


queer commandos

by hi_hello_hey_there



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King, Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Crossover, F/F, F/M, Georgie Denbrough Lives, M/M, Semi-Canon Compliant, Texting, el and stan are best friends because i say so, group message, i just want to make finn wolfhard's characters interact, is that too much to ask?, plot if you squint, text fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-24
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2020-10-27 06:07:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 25,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20755586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hi_hello_hey_there/pseuds/hi_hello_hey_there
Summary: When Richie gets the brilliant idea to bring his friends with him to visit his cousins in Hawkins, Indiana, not all goes as planned.-or-The IT/Stranger Things crossover with a really weird plot twist that nobody asked for.





	1. you said the c word

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I'm back! This is exciting!  
So, I started this fic about 2 summers ago and never really did anything with it until a couple of months ago. I have three more chapters to write, so make sure you guys get on my ass about that, or I'll forget it under the pile of other shit from school. Anyway, I really love this story and it's so much fun to write. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!  
Thanks for reading, lovelies! -B

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the beginning, there was a really nagging voice in the back of my head that told me I had to write a texting fic or I'd never get a good grade in econ ever again. And this was born! Please enjoy! -B

**[Derry, Maine]**

**[Monday, June 3]**

**[3:07 pm]**

**bill ** made a group message: **the losers club**

**bill** added **stan** to **the losers club**

**bill** added **eddie** to **the losers club**

**bill** added **richie** to **the losers club**

**bill** added **mike** to **the losers club**

**bill** added **ben** to **the losers club**

**bill** added **bev** to **the losers club**

**richie:** sup mothers and fuckers of the jury

**stan:** I’ve known Richie since Kindergarten. Why am I still shocked at his profanity?

**eddie:** who still uses the word profanity?

**stan:** Shut up, Edward.

**bev:** i didn’t fail to notice i was added last

**bev:** why is that billiam?

**ben:** you’re always ﬁrst in my heart

**bev:** aw thanks bb

**eddie:** when ben and bev are #relationshipgoals

**bill:** bc i wanted to make sure i got all the boys

**bill:** also, vest for last

**mike:** vest

**bill:** anyway

**bill:** who’s up for movies and a sleepover friday?

**mike:** i’m in

**eddie:** i’ll ask my mom, but regardless of what she says, i’ll be there

**eddie:** #noragerts

**bev:** my dad’s not home that night so i’m coming

**ben:** i’m there

**stan:** My parents said yes.

**richie:** bad news my dudes

**richie:** i will not be able to be there

**eddie:** i’m crestfallen

**richie:** dont cry for me eds

**richie:** oh wait

**richie:** that was sarcasm wasnt it?

**eddie:** ya think?

**richie:** wow rude

**bill:** why not rich?

**bev:** yeah why not?

**bev:** its not movie night without ur shitty commentary

**richie:** my aunt wants to see me before i go off to college

**ben:** oof

**ben:** you said the c word

**eddie:** that’s not the c word

**eddie:** the c word is clown

**eddie:** like richie

**bev:** OMH EDWARD I CANT BELIEFE YOU SAID THE C WORD

**mike:** beliefe

**ben:** hold up why is that the c word?

**bev:** idk i just got a bad feeling about it

**eddie:** yeah me too

**bill:** ANYWAY (part 2)

**bill:** how long are u away richie?

**richie:** heres the kicker

**richie:** i’m going to be in the middle of buttfucking nowhere indiana for the whole summer

**richie:** with my cousins and my aunt karen and uncle ted

**richie:** probably dying of boredom

**mike:** what? that’s no fair

**richie:** ur tellin me

**bev:** u cant be gone the whole summer

**bev:** !!!!

**stan:** As much as I hate to say this, I agree with Bev.

**richie:** somebody write it down

**richie:** stanny boy loves me

**stan:** Never mind.

**richie:** wow rude- the thrilling sequel

**eddie:** i just saw this and

**eddie:** what do u mean ur gone the whole summer richard??????

**richie:** i cant tell if thats sarcasm or not

**eddie:** UNACCEPTABLE.gif

**ben:** omg eddie reposnding with gifs is my religion

**mike:** reposnding

**ben:** u no what michael

**richie:** and heres the worst part

**richie:** everyone says i look like my cousin mike

**richie:** but i dont see it

**richie:** and hes an annoyinh twat

**mike:** i already like him

**mike:** also annoyinh

**stan:** Anybody Richie thinks is annoying must be exactly the opposite.

**bev:** wait is he the one in the picture at ur house where there are two little boys pouting at each other in the sand box??

**richie:** sì

**bev:** omg then u DO look exactly alike

**bill:** well that sucks

**richie:** ur tellin me- another saga by urs truly

**richie:** wait

**richie:** i have the just come up with the best of plans

**mike:** the just come up

**ben:** that was grammar not spelling

**mike:** i’m an equal opportunity asshat

**stan:** Oh, no.

**richie:** i didnt even say anything yet u dick

**stan:** The last time you had a “great idea,” me, Ben, and Mike ended up grounded, Eddie broke his arm again, and Bev and Bill had to bust you out of mall jail.

**eddie:** u know whats funny

**eddie:** i don’t remember breaking my arm the ﬁrst time but i know it happened

**bev:** yeah me either

**richie:** ok sure stanny

**richie:** but this idea is actually good

**stan:** I’ll believe it when I see it.

**richie:** what if we all go?

**bill:** to indiana?

**richie:** yeah

**richie:** a last hurrah before c*llege

**ben:** ty for censoring the c word

**richie:** np bb

**mike:** are you sure your aunt and uncle wouldn't mind?

**richie:** i dont think so

**richie:** i was going to call her today anyway so ill ask

**bev:** if ur aunt is cool with it, it sounds fun!

**stan:** That is actually… not a horrible idea.

**richie:** dudes stan really does love me

**stan:** Go to hell.

**[6:52 pm]**

**richie:** good news friends

**richie:** my aunt said shed be happy to have all of us

**bev:** im going

**richie:** yay bevvie!

**ben:** well, i’m going if bev’s going

**mike:** you 2 are sickeningly cute

**mike:** i don’t know how i’m gonna deal with you in another state

**richie:** ayyy

**richie:** mikey haystack bev and me so far

**richie:** staniel? billy boy? eddie spaghetti????

**eddie:** 1 that is not my name

**eddie:** 2 i can drive like three people in my car

**stan:** My parents think it’ll be good for me to get out of the state.

**stan:** So I’m going, too.

**bill:** i can also drive

**richie:** HELL YEAH

**richie:** ROAD TRIP BITCHES

**stan:** All of a sudden, I regret everything.

**bill:** stfu stan u love us

**stan:** There are exactly three people I love in this group chat.

**bev:** theres literally no way im not one of them

**bev:** u come to me for Relationship Advice

**stan:** That is correct.

**bevin (bev) and stannah (stan)**

**stannah:** BEV!

**bevin:** sorry sorry i got this

**the losers club**

**bev:** ayyyyy suck it boys

**bev:** lemme guess the other 2

**richie:** im gonna go ahead and say im not one of them

**stan:** Also correct.

**richie:** wow rude- the conclusion book in my trilogy

**eddie:** are we gonna ignore than stan needs Relationship Advice???

**bev:** ANYWAY

**bill:** hey thats my thing

**bev:** aNyWaY

**bev:** the other two are without a doubt mike and bill

**stan:** Right again.

**bill:** aw stan u love me?

**bill:** that’s gay

**richie:** not as gay as me

**eddie:** did anyone else suddenly get a headache

**richie:** oh my little eds

**richie:** u love me the most

**eddie:** iwouldsellyoutosatanforonecornchip.jpg

**richie:** iloveyoudespitethewarnings.jpg

**stan:** Do me a favor and ﬂirt elsewhere?

**eddie:** i’m not ﬂirting with that shitbag

**richie:** i am

**ben:** when #reddie is alive and thriving

**eddie:** did you just

**richie:** make a shipname for us?

**mike:** wHeN uR oTp FiNiShEs EaCh OtHeRs SeNtEnCeS

**eddie:** mikey i will choke you

**mike:** can you even reach my neck?

**bill:** surprisedkirk.jpg

**richie:** hell stand on my shoulders and we can both fuck you up

**eddie:** yeah!

**bev:** when will ur faves ever

**bill:** A N Y W A Y

**eddie:** thanks bill

**bill:** ur welcome

**bill:** when do we leave?

**richie:** friday morning

**bev:** i have just realized two totally unrelated things

**ben:** please share

**mike:** englithen us

**ben:** englithen

**ben:** HAH I GOT U

**mike:** benjamin reginald hanscom

**richie:** oh fuck mikey middle named u

**richie:** ur in for it now haystack

**stan:** What are your revelations, Bev?

**bev:** ok 1- y did it take us this long to make a group chat?

**bev:** and 2- y r our screen names so boring

**eddie:** well 1 is bc Someone took forever to get a smartphone

**mike:** guilty

**eddie:** and 2 is bc billy boy is uncreative

**bill:** bite ur tongue kaspbrak

**richie:** i volunteer

**richie rich (richie) and billy goat (bill)**

**billy goat:** smooth like sandpaper dude

**richie rich:** i try

**the losers club**

**eddie:** did u just?

**richie:** i did

**richie:** what u gonna do about it

**eddie** removed **richie** from **the losers club**

**stan:** I’m surprised it took this long.

**eddie:** i have granted u peace for the evening

**eddie:** ur welcome

**eddie:** good night ily all

**ben:** its 7:45

**eddie:** i SAID good NIGHT ily ALL

**bill:** we love u too

**bev:** GOOD NIGHT EDDIE ILY

**[Tuesday, June 4]**

**[10:47 am]**

**bev** added **richie** to **the losers club**

**ben:** welcome back

**stan:** Woah, hey!

**stan:** Why did you add him back?

**bev:** i kinda felt bad

**richie:** i cant believe you all allowed me to be kicked out for the whole night!

**richie:** assholes

**bill:** yeah

**bill:** he ended up texting me the whole time

**bill:** traitors

**eddie:** i’m not sorry

**eddie:** it’s usually me dealing with his 4 am philosophical questions

**bill:** my favorite one had to be “if 2 vegans are arguing, is it still considered beef?”

**bev:** thats nothing to the one time he called me high and asked

**bev:** wait for it

**bev:** if i weigh 99 pounds and i eat a pound of nachos, am i 1% nacho?

**ben:** that’s good, yes

**ben:** but one time he drunk texted me “if tomatoes are fruit, doesn’t that make ketchup a smoothie?”

**ben:** except with several spelling errors and three emojis thrown in at random places

**stan:** I think I win

**stan:** Once, when it was just the two of us in the Barrens waiting for you guys, he said, “If I punch myself and it hurts, am I weak or strong?” And the proceeded to punch himself, which made him fall into the fucking river.

**eddie:** my fave is when he asked me what color is a mirror

**mike:** one day he asked what language deaf people think in

**richie:** i hate all of u

**richie:** some friends u r

**richie:** this is biphobic

**eddie:** go back to tumblr

**bill:** a N y W a Y

**bill:** i am going to solve bev’s second problem from yesterday

**bill** changed their name to **big bill**

**big bill** changed** stan**’s name to **stan the man**

**big bill** changed **mike**’s name to **michael with a b**

**big bill** changed **bev**’s name to **molly ringwald**

**big bill** changed **ben**’s name to **haystack**

**big bill** changed **richie**’s name to **trashmouth**

**big bill** changed **eddie**’s name to **eddie spaghetti**

**big bill:** thats payback for calling me uncreative

**eddie spaghetti:** wtf i can change my own name

**eddie spaghetti** changed their name to **sweet creature**

**sweet creature:** harry styles is my man crush every day

**mom™ (bev) and son™ (eddie)**

**mom™:** careful

**mom™:** ur gay is showing

**son™:** shut ur face

**the losers club**

**trashmouth:** the name suits u

**richie rich and billy goat**

**billy goat:** do u know what subtlety is

**richie rich:** AHAHAHAHAH

**richie rich:** nervouswhatthefuck.gif

**richie rich:** what am i doing?

**billy goat:** i ask myself that every day

**richie rich:** shut the hell ur mouth

**the losers club**

**molly ringwald:** anyway

**molly ringwald:** im vv excited for friday

**trashmouth:** im already making the playlist

**sweet creature:** oh dear god help us now

**haystack:** my mom is making me pack already

**big bill:** mine too

**molly ringwald:** that reminds me

**molly ringwald:** i should probably start packing

**molly ringwald:** gtg

**trashmouth:** later loser

**sweet creature:** hey we’re all losers here

**sweet creature:** losers means family

**stan the man:** Unfortunately that means I’m related to Richie.

**trashmouth:** do i even have to say it?

**sweet creature:** howrude.gif

**trashmouth:** thanks eddie bear

**sweet creature:** shut the fuck up bucky beaver

**big bill:** now children

**trashmouth:** yes mom

**trashmouth:** …

**trashmouth:** wait

**michael with a b:** good god now what?

**trashmouth:** i ﬁgured out how stan is related to me

**haystack:** ???

**trashmouth:** he’s my dad

**stan the man:** As Ben so eloquently put it: ???

**trashmouth:** well if bill is my mom…

**michael with a b:** O O F

**big bill:** what are u implying richard

**sweet creature:** that was strangely menacing even though it was all lowercase

**trashmouth:** exactly what u think im implying

**stan the man:** And I’m leaving. Goodbye!

**stan the man** has left **the losers club**

**big bill:** good job numbnuts

**trashmouth:** what did i say ?

**michael with a b:** *facepalm*

**sweet creature:** *facepalm*

**haystack:** *facepalm*

**molly ringwald:** i walk away for a half hour smh

**molly ringwald:** boys

**billy (bill) and stanny (stan)**

**billy:** stan

**billy:** staaaaaan

**billy:** stanley

**billy:** listen i know ur reading these so

**billy:** just calm down and let me know when ur ready to come back

**billy:** richie just never knows when to stfu

**billy:** i miss u

**stanny:** Thanks.

**billy:** np <3 <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> »Formatting this thing is a bitch and I hate myself for that.  
»Can you tell I really like stenbrough? Also, Richie will forever remain a little shit but I love him for it.  
»Next chapter is in Hawkins! I'm excited!  
»Love you guys! Thanks for reading!  
»Check me out on tumblr (main: hi-hello-hey-there, it/st: toziers-token).
> 
> -B


	2. i could feel ur eye roll from across town

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> bard- dustin  
cleric- will  
mage- el  
paladin- mike  
ranger- lucas  
zoomer- max

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a few little housekeeping things before we get right into it:  
-This looks like I'll be updating on Mondays if all goes according to plan. I'll also answer questions on here and on tumblr (if you've got any) on Fridays or Saturdays.  
-Maybe you noticed the new chapter count. I was writing the second to last chapter and realized it was going to be way too long to fit into one thing, so I've added another chapter to account for it.  
-If you haven't heard Chosen's song "Missing You," please do yourself a favor and go cry over it. It's so beautiful and sad and I love it!  
-Lastly, I have a new idea brewing in my head and I'm almost done with the chapter planning. Now I know what you're thinking: Blue, don't you have a shit ton of things to do for school? And to that, dear reader, I would say yes. Yes I do. But this idea wouldn't leave me alone so keep an eye out for that once this story is done.  
That's all for now. Enjoy!

**[Hawkins, Indiana]**

**[Wednesday, June 5]**

**[2:27 am]**

**the party**

**mage:** anyone up

**zoomer:** at this time of night?

**zoomer:** always

**cleric:** yeah me too

**cleric:** what’s up, el?

**mage:** i had a dream

**cleric:** like a dream or a /dream/?

**mage:** the second one

**zoomer:** wanna talk about it

**mage:** i was in that black place and a boy with curly hair about our age showed up

**mage:** his nose was bleeding and he asked me if i could help him

**mage:** there was a number on his wrist too- 010

**cleric:** ooh that’s creepy

**cleric:** you can come to my room if that'll help

**mage:** yes please

**zoomer:** deﬁnitely creepy

**zoomer:** im sure it was just a dream

**bard:** listen

**bard:** i know you had a weird dream el

**bard:** but if you guys dont stop blowing up my phone ill kill all of you

**zoomer:** jeez dustin

**cleric:** do you know how to silence your phone?

**cleric:** it’s really simple i can teach you

**zoomer:** oooh burn

**bard:** just shut up and go back to sleep

**bard:** good night

**[11:11 am]**

**paladin:** sorry I didn’t see your messages last night

**paladin:** are you okay, el?

**cleric:** also, it’s 11:11 make a wish!

**bard:** also sorry i was so snippy

**bard:** it was very early and u know how i get

**mage:** yeah i’m all good

**mage:** it just felt super weird ya know?

**mage:** and dustin, it’s okay

**zoomer:** good good

**ranger:** Hey, El. Sorry I didn’t see these until now.

**ranger:** It’s good you feel okay.

**ranger:** Let’s do something together today.

**paladin:** unless y’all want to come help clean my house, it’ll have to wait until tomorrow

**mage:** i’m okay with helping

**cleric:** me too

**zoomer:** what are you cleaning for???

**paladin:** well

**bard:** i sense a rant coming on

**ranger:** Grab your popcorn, ladies and gents.

**paladin:** my mom wants to see my dumb cousin from maine

**paladin:** and he’s coming with his friends on friday

**paladin:** mom says if the house isn’t spotless, richie is sharing my room with me

**zoomer:** ill bring snacks while we clean

**cleric:** wait, the same richie that put sand in your clothes?

**paladin:** the very same

**bard:** i could feel ur eye roll from across town

**bard:** and ill come help clean if only to hear ur ranting in person

**ranger:** Should I rent a movie for later?

**zoomer:** /rent/ a /movie/?

**zoomer:** what are you 80?

**zoomer:** blockbuster went out of business in like 2013

**ranger:** I just looked that up and apparently, you are very correct.

**zoomer:** thank you thank you

**zoomer:** its a gift

**paladin:** well, if you’re coming, get your asses over here

**bard:** calm ur tits

**bard:** im pulling into ur driveway now

**ranger:** I’ll just bring the original Star Wars trilogy.

**mage:** yay!

**zoomer:** will someone come get me?

**cleric:** yeah, i’ll get you

**cleric:** me and el were just about to leave

**cleric:** see you guys in a few

**[5:32 pm]**

**bard:** will someone get me another pepsi

**ranger:** Seriously?

**bard:** what?

**bard:** i dont want to ruin the movie

**ranger:** Too little too late, dude.

**bard:** if ur not going to help fuck off

**ranger:** Real mature.

**cleric:** jfc i’ll get it

**bard:** thank will ilysm

**cleric:** please stop talking now

**bard:** were not talking

**bard:** that was literally the whole point of this message

**bard:** dont roll ur eyes at me young man

**cleric:** i’m older than you

**zoomer:** SHUSH

**bard:** jeez ok

**[8:18 pm]**

**totally tubular- dusty (dustin), lukey (lucas), maxie (max)**

**maxie:** does the angsty trio look angstier than usual??

**lukey:** Yeah, a little.

**dusty:** jesus fuck i dont know if i can handle the pining much longer

**maxie:** you have to let them do it in their own time

**maxie:** until then…

**lukey:** Tease them relentlessly.

**maxie:** exactly

**dusty:** now shut up

**dusty:** im watching the movie

**[8:45 pm]**

**mother gay (max) and baby gay (will)**

**mother gay:** are you alright?

**baby gay:** yeah i guess

**mother gay:** you sure?

**baby gay:** can i come sit w/ you and it not look weird?

**baby gay:** idk if i can sit next to these 2 anymore

**mother gay:** we’ll “go get snacks” and you can sit next to me instead of mike when we get back

**baby gay:** thank you so much

**mother gay:** what are friends for?

**[10:59 pm]**

**el (eleven) and mikey (mike w.)**

**el:** i’m glad we got to talk after everyone left

**mikey:** yeah me too

**mikey:** do we tell people?

**mikey:** i don't exactly know what to do in a breakup situation

**el:** haha me neither

**el:** i suppose we should tell the other four

**el:** maybe our parents

**mikey:** that sounds like a good idea

**mikey:** i know we talked about it but

**el:** are we still friends?

**mikey:** yeah

**el:** you know i’ll always love you, mikey

**el:** you were my ﬁrst friend

**el:** but not like that

**mikey:** ok good

**mikey:** the feeling is deﬁnitely mutual

**el:** if you don’t mind i have a question too

**mikey:** shoot

**el:** what are you intending to do with my brother?

**mikey:** what?

**el:** i’ve seen the way you look at will

**el:** just don’t hurt him

**mikey:** i would never

**mikey:** not intentionally

**el:** that’s all i needed to hear

**el:** goodnight mike

**mikey:** goodnight el

**[Thursday, June 6]**

**[9:58 am]**

**the party**

**zoomer:** im heading out for ice cream

**zoomer:** anyone want anything

**ranger:** Max, it’s 10 o’clock in the morning.

**zoomer:** ???

**ranger:** You can’t eat ice cream this early.

**zoomer:** dont tell me what i can and cant do sinclair

**paladin:** actually, el and i were hoping to tell y’all something

**paladin:** after my mom is done lecturing us about tomorrow do we want to get brunch?

**bard:** i could eat

**ranger:** You could always eat, Dustin.

**bard:** shut ur trap sinclair

**mage:** let’s go to benny’s

**cleric:** is he even open this early?

**mage:** not really

**mage:** but he’s there prepping for today and he’ll let us in

**ranger:** Sounds like a plan.

**paladin:** i’ll take lucas since holly’s going to spend the day with erica

**zoomer:** i have the car today so i can get dustin

**cleric:** and me and el are going together

**paladin:** see you guys then

**[11:02 am]**

**mother gay and baby gay**

**baby gay:** am i losing my mind or did el and mike just say they broke up?

**mother gay:** nope

**mother gay:** your hearing is as good as mine

**baby gay:** also is my vision going or did el /wink/ at me

**mother gay:** no i saw that too

**baby gay:** good lord

**mother gay:** you can say that again

**baby gay:** good lord

**[1:56 pm]**

**the party**

**paladin:** will someone please tell dustin to shut the fuck up

**paladin:** he hasn’t stopped talking since the diner

**bard:** i just cant believe u and el would break up

**mage:** it’s not really breaking up if both of us wanted it

**bard:** okay but consider this

**bard:** it is a breakup

**bard:** and u both shattered my image of love

**ranger:** Jesus, Dustin, just stop talking already.

**zoomer:** i agree with lucas

**cleric:** also, you’re in a relationship dustin

**bard:** again i say to u- ???

**paladin:** did you just quote the bible?

**zoomer:** anyway

**zoomer:** stop harassing them

**paladin:** yes thank you max

**zoomer:** np bb

**bard:** i will harass them as much as i want

**bard:** ive earned the right to

**bard:** i had to listen to piney mcpinepants before they got together

**bard:** and this is what comes out of it

**ranger:** You’re literally the only person upset about this.

**totally tubular**

**maxie:** laying it on a little thick dude

**lukey:** Yeah. Cut that shit out.

**dusty:** oops

**the party**

**mage:** quit with the fucking moping and shut up

**zoomer:** daaaaaaammmnn

**zoomer:** dustin youve been #owned

**cleric:** better watch out dustin

**cleric:** el never swears

**cleric:** only when she’s angry

**bard:** shit im sorry

**bard:** i crossed a line

**bard:** it was all teasing

**bard:** u know that right?

**mage:** yeah.

**bard:** i’ll stop now

**paladin:** thank the fucking lord

**ranger:** Watch your profanity.

**paladin:** don’t quote vines at me sinclair

**cleric:** not that i’ve been counting but

**cleric:** that's the fourth time somebody’s called lucas by his last name today

**paladin:** that means you’ve totally been counting

**cleric:** shrug.gif

**cleric:** we’ve had an abysmal lack of gifs in this gc recently

**zoomer:** napoleondynamitedance.gif

**ranger:** ZaynMalikEyeRoll.gif

**mage:** babbybuny.gif

**cleric:** that is actually the cutest thing i’ve ever seen

**zoomer:** its SO cute

**mage:** thank you!

**[10:28 pm]**

**cleric:** so how long do i have to wait to explicitly ﬂirt with him?

**paladin:** ﬂirt with who?

**zoomer:** yes william dear

**zoomer:** who?

**bard:** do u think hes reading all of these and is ignoring us

**ranger:** Or died of embarrassment?

**mage:** can conﬁrm it’s the former

**zoomer:** dont tease us like that will

**bard:** if youve got a crush on someone we have to screen him ﬁrst

**bard:** its like in the best friend handbook

**bard:** chapter 4 paragraph 3 subsection 18

**ranger:** Thank you for the citation.

**bard:** my pleasure

**cleric:** dear god that was certainly not meant for this thread

**cleric:** please, if you guys love me, ignore it for now

**cleric:** i don’t want to talk about it

**ranger:** That was a well thought out and sincere argument.

**bard:** too bad we dont give a shit

**mage:** yeah we’re going to pester you until you talk

**cleric:** i have a simple solution

**cleric** left **the party**

**bard:** shit

**zoomer:** ill hand it to him

**zoomer:** that was smart

**ranger:** Hey, Mike, you’ve been awfully quiet.

**paladin:** sorry i had just got off work and was about to drive home when i answered

**bard:** incorrect

**paladin:** what?

**bard:** u dont work on thursdays

**paladin:** no comment

**bard:** what are u hiding

**mage:** i can’t get will to come out of his room

**mage:** but he told me to leave him alone

**mage:** so at least he’s not dead

**zoomer:** not physically

**mage:** oh mikey what /are/ you hiding?

**paladin:** ummm

**paladin** left **the party**

**ranger:** We’re all thinking the same thing, right?

**bard:** no shit

**zoomer:** uh duh

**mage:** deﬁnitely

**zoomer:** ill add them back in the morning

**zoomer:** night all

**mage:** night!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> »Formatting is still the bane of my existence but the things I wouldn't do for the #aesthetic.  
»Thank you for all your lovely comments and kudos! You all are such sweethearts and I love you so much!  
»Next chapter is when the losers meet the party. Be there or be square.  
»Love you guys! Thanks for reading!  
»Check me out on tumblr (main: hi-hello-hey-there, it/st: toziers-token).
> 
> -B


	3. but the catholic church would frown upon my ~homosexuality~

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> for the pics the groups send of themselves  
losers club (one row): richie ~ stan ~ ben ~ bev ~ eddie ~ mike h. ~ bill  
the party (two rows):  
-back row: max ~ will ~ el  
-front row: dustin ~ mike w. ~ lucas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back everyone! Thank you all so much for your lovely comments and kudos. Love you to the moon and back.  
Two quick things before we get started:  
-Somebody asked on last chapter if the party meeting the losers was going to be in person (spoiler it's not) but there are some predominantly traditional narrative sections towards the end of the story. I promise, it's not all texting (even though it pretty much is at the beginning).  
-Remember that story I talked about writing last time? I need your help with something. If there was a hypothetical scene where someone gets serenaded, say, in the style of 10 Things I Hate About You, would you guys like the classic "I Love You Baby" song to be used or another upbeat romantic song? Leave your thoughts and suggestions in the comments. Thank in advance, guys! Enjoy!

**[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania]**

**[Friday, June 7]**

**[2:13 pm]**

**dickie (richie) and michele (mike w.)**

**dickie:** hey we stopped for lunch

**dickie:** we can make that group now

**michele:** sure thing

**[2:17 pm]**

**Michael Wheeler** made a group message: **hawkins vs derry**

**Michael Wheeler** added **William Byers** to **hawkins vs derry**

**Michael Wheeler** added **Lucas Sinclair** to **hawkins vs derry**

**Michael Wheeler** added **El Hopper** to **hawkins vs derry**

**Michael Wheeler** added **Maxine Mayﬁeld** to **hawkins vs derry**

**Michael Wheeler** added **Dustin Henderson** to **hawkins vs derry**

**Michael Wheeler** added **Richard Tozier** to **hawkins vs derry**

**Michael Wheeler:** add your people richie

**Richard Tozier:** dont mind if i do

**Richard Tozier** added **Edward Kaspbrak** to **hawkins vs derry**

**Richard Tozier** added **Benjamin Hanscom** to **hawkins vs derry**

**Richard Tozier** added **Beverly Marsh** to **hawkins vs derry**

**Richard Tozier** added **Stanley Uris** to **hawkins vs derry**

**Richard Tozier** added **William Denbrough** to **hawkins vs derry**

**Richie Tozier** added **Michael Hanlon** to **hawkins vs derry**

**Edward Kaspbrak:** great

**Edward Kaspbrak:** another fucking group chat

**Dustin Henderson:** good to meet u too buddy

**Michael Wheeler:** we should introduce ourselves?

**Beverly Marsh:** yeah

**Beverly Marsh:** good idea

**El Hopper:** how about we send a picture of ourselves

**William Denbrough:** i have one of team derry

**William Denbrough:** LosersClubTakeGraduation.jpg

**Maxine Mayﬁeld:** let’s say our names and 2 important things

**Maxine Mayﬁeld:** so we no a little about each other

**Richard Tozier:** cool im ﬁrst

**Richard Tozier:** sup im richie u can call me trashmouth

**Richard Tozier:** im the one on the far left

**Richard Tozier:** im super bisexual and im in love with eddie

**Richie Tozier:** whos next

**Eddie Kaspbrak:** stfu asshole

**Eddie Kaspbrak:** im eddie (not in love with richie) third from the right

**mom™ and son™**

**mom™:** yeah right

**mom™:** keep telling urself that

**son™:** shut UP beverly

**hawkins vs derry**

**Edward Kaspbrak:** i like writing and i can quote vines in mt sleep

**Edward Kaspbrak:** and while we’re at it i’m vvv gay

**Michael Hanlon:** mt

**Edward Kaspbrak:** jfc sHuT uP michael

**Michael Wheeler:** what did I do?

**Michael Hanlon:** not you indiana mike

**Michael Hanlon:** he’s talking about me 

**Michael Wheeler:** hey I like that

**Michael Wheeler** changed their name to **indiana mike**

**Michael Hanlon:** cool cool

**Michael Hanlon:** anywho i’m mike hanlon (second from the right) and i love working with the animals on my pop’s farm and i’m something of a stickler for spelling

**Michael Hanlon:** i’m also biro and ace

**Beverly Marsh:** we get it mikey ur a big farmer hunk

**Beverly Marsh:** hey yall im bev marsh in the dead center

**Beverly Marsh:** i love musicals and marvel (basically anything nerdy) and im panro/demi

**Beverly Marsh:** OH OH ALSO

**Beverly Marsh:** im dating ben hanscom the love of my life

**Benjamin Hanscom:** love u too bevvie

**El Hopper:** aww !

**Maxine Mayﬁeld:** ew

**Benjamin Hanscom:** hey i’m ben hanscom third from the left

**Benjamin Hanscom:** i’m super into reading and architecture

**Benjamin Hanscom:** and while we’re at it i’m polysexual

**Stanley Uris:** Hi, everyone, I’m Stan Uris (between Richie and Ben) and I love photography and can play the piano. I’m also gay.

**William Denbrough:** that leaves me

**William Denbrough:** bill denbrough far right

**William Denbrough:** i’m very passionate about art and video games

**William Denbrough:** also i’m super pan

**Lucas Sinclair:** Y’all look so nice in your graduation stuff.

**Stanley Uris:** Thanks!

**Stanley Uris:** Also, thank you for being the literal only other person to use proper grammar.

**Lucas Sinclair:** I know. It bugs me to no end.

**Dustin Henderson:** shut the fucl up

**Michael Hanlon:** fucl

**Dustin Henderson:** dude wtf

**Michael Hanlon:** sorry

**Michael Hanlon:** force of habit

**William Byers:** alrighty i got team hawkins’s pic

**William Byers:** thepartymeetscomiccon.jpg

**William Byers:** this is the only nice one of all of us not in some weird costume

**Lucas Sinclair:** I’ll start.

**Lucas Sinclair:** Hey, everybody! I’m Lucas Sinclair and I’m kneeling on the far right. I like the outdoors and I can play the drums.

**Lucas Sinclair:** And I might as well jump on the coming out bandwagon. I’m poly, too.

**Ben Hanscom:** nice !

**William Byers:** sup guys i’m will byers (middle standing)

**William Byers:** i’m gay, i love to draw and paint and stuff, and i’m kind of an actor

**Dustin Henderson:** kind of?

**Dustin Henderson:** he was a lead in all of our school musicals ever

**William Byers:** shut up dustin

**Dustin Henderson:** anyway

**Dustin Henderson:** im dustin henderson -kneeling on the left- and i like cooking and volunteering at the animal shelter

**Dustin Henderson:** im also biro and ace

**Maxine Mayﬁeld:** bonjour yall im maxine mayﬁeld but if any of you (except mike w) call me anything but max ill castrate you

**William Denbrough:** oh ok

**Beverly Marsh:** i like her already

**Maxine Mayﬁeld:** i like to skateboard and sing and im the biggest lesbian to walk the face of the earth

**Maxine Mayﬁeld:** im standing on the left

**indiana mike:** that’s our max for ya

**indiana mike:** i’m mike wheeler (middle kneeling) i’m really into journalism and could probably perform all of the star wars movies in my sleep

**indiana mike:** also very bi

**El Hopper:** mike also plays guitar but never shows anyone

**indiana ** **mike:** EL

**El Hopper:** oh shut up you big baby

**Maxine Mayﬁeld:** daaaaaaaammn

**El Hopper:** anyway hi guys ! i’m el hopper standing on the right

**El Hopper:** i love animals and pottery and i don’t have a label just for sure not straight

**El Hopper:** and me and will are (soon to be) step-siblings

**Beverly Marsh:** that’s exciting!

**Richard Tozier:** ok now that we no every1 can we please change our names?

**Richard Tozier:** im so sick of seeing richard every time i type a message

**Edward Kapbrak:** i got it

**Edward Kaspbrak** changed **Richard Tozier**’s name to **dickhead**

**Edward Kaspbrak:** perfect

**dickhead:** im ok w that

**William Denbrough:** oh no

**indiana mike:** oh no what?

**William Denbrough:** u’ll see

**dickhead** changed **Edward Kaspbrak**’s name to **dickhead’s husband**

**dickhead:** perfect

**dickhead’s husband:** for fuck’s sake

**El Hopper:** not to sound invasive

**El Hopper:** but are you 2 dating?

**dickhead:** yes

**dickhead’s husband:** ABSOLUTELY NOT

**dickhead’s husband:** i wouldn’t date richie if the fate of humanity depended on it

**mom™ and son™**

**mom™:** right sure

**son™:** bEeEeEeEeEv

**son™:** shhhHHHHHHhHHHH

**hawkins vs derry**

**dickhead:** that hurts eddie my love

**Lucas Sinclair:** I have to know if the Grease reference was intentional or not.

**dickhead:** defniitely intentional

**Michael Hanlon:** defniitely

**dickhead:** cHrIsT aLmIgHtY

**Michael Hanlon** changed their name to **christ almikey**

**christ almikey:** thanks trashmouth

**Maxine Mayﬁeld:** you actually call him that?

**Stanley Uris:** Among other things.

**Beverly Marsh** changed their name to **january embers**

**Ben Hanscom** changed their name to **winter ﬁre**

**january embers:** awww babe

**Maxine Mayﬁeld:** hey hey theres none of that in this chat

**winter ﬁre:** what?

**Maxine Mayﬁeld:** as far as i no u 2 r the only 1s dating

**Maxine Mayﬁeld:** so no pda plz and thank you

**january embers:** i called him babe

**Lucas Sinclair:** Yeah. Max is kind of melodramatic when it comes to relationships.

**Maxine Mayﬁeld:** i was considering taking a vow of chastity and becoming a nun

**Maxine Mayﬁeld:** but the catholic church would frown upon my ~homosexuality~

**indiana mike** changed **Maxine Mayﬁeld**’s name to **sister maxine**

**sister maxine:** thanks

**indiana mike:** anytime bb

**El Hopper** changed their name to **bitchin’**

**sister maxine:** daaaaaammmnn

**Dustin Henderson:** is that ur like default answer to anything el does

**sister maxine:** you bet your ass it is

**bitchin’** changed **Dustin Henderson**’s name to **daaaaaammmnn**

**sister maxine:** daaaaaammmnn

**daaaaaammmnn:** u no what

**daaaaaammmnn:** i kinda like it tkae that

**christ almikey:** tkae

**daaaaaammmnn:** thank jesus we have u to correct our spelling

**Stanley Uris:** Good to know that your need to correct spelling supersedes barely knowing someone.

**dickhead:** who uses the word supersedes

**Stanley Uris:** I’m surprised you spelled that correctly, dickhead.

**dickhead:** autocorrect wot can i say

**dickhead** changed **Stanley Uris**’s name to **salty and jealous**

**salty and jealous:** Why do I even bother at this point?

**William Byers:** i feel like richie would get along very well with dustin

**daaaaaammmnn:** y would u say that

**dickhead:** y would u say that

**sister maxine:** at the same time

**sister maxine:** ur good will

**William Byers:** i rest my case

**indiana mike** changed **William Byers**’s name to **sherlock**

**sherlock:** sure why not

**William Denbrough** changed their name to **just a bill**

**Lucas Sinclair:** Like that school house rock video?

**just a bill:** yeah!

**Lucas Sinclair:** I understood that reference for once.

**christ almikey** changed **Lucas Sinclair**’s name to **captain america**

**january embers:** i understood /that/ reference

**christ almikey:** yeah you did!

**dickhead’s husband:** alright we gotta get back on the road if we want to make it to indiana before midnight

**winter ﬁre:** hey eddie y haven't u changed ur name yet

**dickhead’s husband:** bEn

**dickhead’s husband:** the bEtRaYaL

**dickhead’s husband:** i’m used to this from your wife but you too?

**just a bill:** he's right tho

**dickhead’s husband:** stfu billiam

**indiana mike:** but he’s right

**dickhead’s husband:** et tu indiana mike?

**sherlock:** i also feel like we would get along eddie

**daaaaaammmnn:** me 2

**indiana mike:** where are you gays anyway?

**christ almikey:** do you mean guys?

**indiana mike:** did i fucking stutter?

**salty and jealous:** We stopped in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

**sister maxine:** dudes that’s like 6 hrs away

**[Dayton, Ohio]**

**[6:54 pm]**

**just a bill:** i just realized a thing

**dickhead:** arent u driving?

**just a bill:** no i switched w/ mike a few miles ago

**just a bill:** anyway

**just a bill:** literally nobody in this chat is straight

**sherlock:** /this/ is the homosexual agenda

**dickhead’s husband:** infect the youth of the world

**daaaaaammmnn:** nobody is safe

**sherlock:** hide your wife, hide your kids

**january embers:** the gays are coming to town

**dickhead:** bev u /r/ driving

**dickhead:** plz stop

**captain america:** I got this.

**captain america** changed the name of the group message to **queer commandos**

**christ almikey:** hell yeah

**bitchin’:** i have also realized a thing

**dickhead:** whats up bitchin

**bitchin’:** if you guys were in pa at 2ish you would’ve had to start driving at like midnight

**winter ﬁre:** we kind of did

**winter ﬁre:** we’ve been switching off every so often when we stop for the bathroom

**winter ﬁre:** and sleeping when we werent driving

**daaaaaammmnn:** hardcore

**daaaaaammmnn:** id be super bitchy by now

**[Hawkins, Indiana]**

**[7:00 pm]**

**the party**

**mage:** you guys !!!!!

**mage:** !!!!!!!!!

**mage:** emergency!

**zoomer:** hold on

**zoomer** added **paladin** to **the party**

**zoomer** added **cleric** to **the party**

**zoomer:** ok continue

**mage:** so i thought i recognized one of the maine people

**bard:** richie literally could be twins with mike

**cleric:** that’s why you were freaking out just now?

**mage:** no

**mage:** well kinda

**paladin:** what is it then?

**mage:** remember i had that nightmare the other day?

**ranger:** Yeah?

**mage:** the boy with curly hair

**mage:** stan i think

**mage:** he was the boy in my dream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> »What's that? A plot point? What the hell does that even mean? I guess you'll find out later. ;)  
»I AM ALWAYS A SLUT FOR THE PARTY INTERACTING WITH THE LOSERS CLUB. SIGN ME THE FUCK UP.  
»I really think you guys are going to enjoy the next chapter cause I sure did. ;))))))  
»Love you guys! Thanks for reading!  
»Check me out on tumblr (main: hi-hello-hey-there, it/st: toziers-token).
> 
> -B


	4. here comes philosophical richie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, y'all! It seems that you guys really are enjoying the gayness of this fic which I can say is definitely a good thing lmao thanks for noticing.  
Also, fun fact about chapter 12: it has taken me into a back alley and beat me senseless with its bare hands and spit in my face. It's kicking my ass and I just know it's gonna need a shit ton of editing so send me good vibes please and thank you.  
ALSO ALSO: there's a time jump of about a week since the last chapter. No reason other than the story would've taken place over like two weeks instead of the whole summer.  
Otherwise, enjoy chapter four!

**[Saturday, June 15]**

**[3:31 am]**

**queer commandos**

**january embers:** so

**january embers:** what r everyones fave musicals

**bitchin’:** i thought you’d never ask

**bitchin’:** i’m absolutely in love with spring awakening

**january embers:** gotta b honest not what i was expecting

**just a bill:** dear evan hansen is my fave

**just a bill:** i would die

**just a bill:** and i mean actually perish

**just a bill:** for mike faist

**indiana mike:** what a mood

**daaaaaammmnn:** what the hell are all of u doing awake

**daaaaaammmnn:** its 3:30 in the fucking morning

**dickhead:** talking about fucking musicals my dude

**daaaaaammmnn:** go to sleep

**daaaaaammmnn:** we r literally seeing each other in the morning

**sherlock:** why are you more grammatically correct in the middle of the night?

**daaaaaammmnn:** good night!

**captiain america:** I really like Be More Chill.

**christ almikey:** yes!

**christ almikey:** i heard michael in the bathroom once and never have i been more willing to give my life for the happiness of a ﬁctional character

**captain america:** Yes!!

**salty and jealous:** I like Falsettos.

**salty and jealous:** For obvious reasons.

**dickhead:** promis not to laugh?

**christ almikey:** promis

**dickead:** michael i stg

**bitchin’:** we won’t laugh richie

**dickhead:** i love hairspray

**dickhead:** it spoke to me

**dickhead’s husband:** oh shit

**sister maxine:** oh shit what?

**dickhead’s husband:** here comes philosophical richie

**dickhead:** i mean it gave us such a wide variety of how people suffer day 2 day

**dickhead:** and we kind of just ignored it

**dickhead's husband:** that was surprisingly profound rich

**sherlock:** gonna be a basic bitch and say hamilton is my fave

**bitchin':** it’s kinda scary but i’ve heard him singing guns and ships in his sleep

**sherlock:** until i hear a recording of it i don’t believe you

**bitchin':** WillSingingGunsandShips.mp3

**dickhead:** oh shit she got u

**sherlock:** no comment

**daaaaaammmnn:** i guess now that im up

**winter fire:** do it

**daaaaaammmnn:** ok

**daaaaaammmnn:** i cant stop listening to heathers

**daaaaaammmnn:** its so catchy!

**winter fire:** dude me too

**sister maxine:** in the heights is my jam

**sister maxine:** lin is my spirit animal

**january embers:** not my face but i also love 21 chump street

**christ almikey:** face

**sister maxine:** hell yeah!

**sister maxine:** what /is/ ur fave

**january embers:** its kinda niche but a chorus line?

**january embers:** its an acquired taste

**dickhead:** the amount of times shes done the shit richie line is ridiculous

**daaaaaammmnn:** is that the one singular sensation musical

**january embers:** yup!

**dickhead's husband:** i guess i have to share now

**sherlock:** duh

**dickhead's husband:** is he always this sassy in the morning

**indiana mike:** always

**sherlock:** continue

**dickhead's husband:** i guess my fave is grease

**dickhead's husband:** but i hate danny zuko with a passion

**dickhead's husband:** kenickie was always my fave

**dickhead's husband:** gay awakening ya know?

**sister maxine:** absolutely

**sister maxine:** except with rizzo

**sister maxine:** but i get it

**indiana mike:** i like the addams family

**indiana mike:** kinda reminds me of my own dysfunctional fam

**winter fire:** should i be frightened?

**winter fire:** bc we're literalyl sleeping in your basement rn dude

**christ almikey:** literalyl

**sherlock:** you know, somehow i’m not surprised that you have to correct spelling even at the witching hour

**christ almikey:** it’s a gift, what can i say?

**daaaaaammmnn:** ok now go to sleep, you heathens

**[10:02 am]**

**dickhead's husband:** mornin’ sleeping beauties what’s the plan for today?

**dickhead:** quit talking about urself in the thrid person

**dickhead's husband:** rich i swear to god above

**captain america:** It’s third.

**captain america:** Ha! Beat you to it, Hawkins Mike!

**winter fire:** oh

**january embers:** oh no

**captain america:** What?

**winter fire:** well…

**salty and jealous:** A few times, we tried to stump Mike and get to a spelling mistake faster and he ghosted us for a week.

**salty and jealous:** Like, in real life, too. It was terrifying.

**daaaaaammmnn:** way 2 go sinclair

**captain america:** Fuck off, Henderson.

**christ almikey:** what the hell are you dumbasses talking about?

**christ almikey:** i wouldn’t do that to anyone

**christ almikey:** especially not people we just met

**the losers club**

**big bill:** what the shit was that

**molly ringwald:** yea y didnt ~lucas~ get the "thrid" degree

**trashmouth:** dude wtf

**sweet creature:** ^^^

**stan the man:** Yeah, I gotta be honest: you were not acting like normal.

**michael with a b:** ben you want to get your 2 cents in before i respond

**haystack:** nah they said what i was going to

**michael with a b:** okay

**michael with a b:** if you guys are implying that i have a crush on lucas

**michael with a b:** then that’s just preposterous

**michael with a b:** i mean we JUST MET

**stan the man:** Uh…

**big bill:** yeah TOTALLY not what i was getting at

**trashmouth:** bro i thought u were sick or smth

**sweet creature:** although now that you say it

**michael with a b:** i’m going to retract my previous statements

**haystack:** no i think we have an idea of what’s going on now

**michael with a b:** guuuuuyss stoooopp

**sweet creature:** um, how about no?

**haystack:** no sounds good

**stan the man:** Look what you’ve done, Michael.

**michael with a b:** what does that mean?

**molly ringwald:** sorry mikey

**molly ringwald:** it means ur fuckt!

**trashmouth:** we aint ever lettin this go

**queer commandos**

**sherlock:** hello?

**bitchin':** i think they’re gone

**captain america:** You think it’s my fault?

**indiana mike:** not really

**indiana mike:** they'll be back eventually

**sister maxine:** maybe spell some words wrong

**sister maxine:** thatll get mike h back at least

**daaaaaammmnn:** engimatic

**sister maxine:** difﬁclutty

**bitchin':** mispeled

**daaaaaammmnn:** ooh good one

**bitchin':** thanks !

**the losers club**

**michael with a b:** the others are getting suspicious

**michael with a b:** they’re gonna think something’s up

**molly ringwald:** its so funny

**molly ringwald:** theyre purposefully misspelling things to get his attention

**molly ringwald:** and as long as nobody says anything

**haystack:** it shouldn’t be an issue

**trashmouth:** hey

**trashmouth:** y did haystack look @ me like that?

**sweet creature:** you know why you dumbfuck

**trashmouth:** rude- the comeback fourth book in my new york times bestselling series

**stan the man:** I’ll distract them.

**queer commandos**

**salty and jealous:** So, I kind of hate my username.

**dickhead:** you wound me staniel

**salty and jealous:** Shut the hell up.

**salty and jealous:** Anyway, recommendations?

**captain america:** Well, what are you called in other group chats?

**salty and jealous:** Usually just “Stan the Man.”

**sherlock:** why not that then?

**bitchin':** how about 10

**salty and jealous:** Excuse me?

**the party**

**zoomer:** EL WHAT THE HECK

**zoomer:** THAT WASNT THE PLAN

**bard:** wait there was a plan

**paladin:** idk man

**mage:** i wanted to see how he reacted

**mage:** i want to talk one on one about it

**cleric:** woah hey now

**cleric:** you don’t even know if your dream is true

**cleric:** i don’t think it’s a good idea to ask about it

**paladin:** i have to agree el

**paladin:** nobody knows whats going to happen

**mage:** i think i’m more than capable of handling myself

**ranger:** I still don’t like it.

**bard:** ye i dont think u should talk to him face 2 face abt it

**queer commandos**

**dickhead's husband:** i know what it feels like now

**dickhead:** feels like shit

**january embers:** oh shut the hell up

**the party**

**mage:** how about i message him about it instead?

**cleric:** i’m ok w/ that

**paladin:** thats better than in person

**ranger:** Just promise me you’ll be safe.

**zoomer:** bros shes our mage for a reason

**mage:** thanks max

**bard:** better get back to queer commandos

**bard:** the gays are getting antsy

**queer commandos**

**bitchin':** sorry we’re back

**just a bill:** what did u mean by 10?

**winter ﬁre:** yeah i am confusion

**salty and jealous:** I am also confused.

**bitchin':** nothing really

**bitchin':** i just thought he said he was a fan of ben 10

**bitchin':** or maybe that’s bc i was watching that last night

**bitchin':** either way sorry for the confusion

**the party**

**zoomer:** nice cover

**mage:** i try

**queer commandos**

**dickhead's husband:** nbd bitchin’

**dickhead:** hey that’s my thing

**christ almikey:** oh my god he used an apostrophe

**january embers:** somebody write it down

**salty and jealous:** “Today is Saturday the fifteenth of June in this the year of our Lord two thousand and nineteen and on this most glorious day, Richard Tozier has ﬁnally deigned it righteous to use the most basic of punctuation: the apostrophe.”

**just a bill:** christ rich look what youve done

**just a bill:** stan’s gonna be poet laureate at this rate

**dickhead:** i hate all of you

**dickhead:** HATE

**dickhead's husband:** awwww baby’s mad

**january embers:** now youve done it ed

**dickhead's husband:** what

**dickhead's husband:** wAIT NO

**dickhead:** its all worth it for u 2 call me baby

**sherlock:** so plans for today?

**dickhead's husband:** thank you

**sherlock:** np :)

**daaaaaammmnn:** how bout a tour of hawkins?

**captain america:** I can borrow my mom’s van for the day.

**indiana mike:** and i’ll take my dad’s suv

**bitchin':** we can stop at benny’s for breakfast

**sister maxine:** thatll be the fourth time we ate there this week

**sister maxine:** not that that matters

**sister maxine:** just pointing it out

**winter ﬁre:** what’s benny’s?

**bitchin':** only the best diner this side of the atlantic

**dickhead:** thems mighty big shoes to ﬁll bitchin

**dickhead:** r u ready to put ur money where ur mputh is ?

**christ almikey:** mputh

**captain america:** And he’s back, folks!

**christ almikey:** you bet ;)

**captain america:** I’ll be at the Wheelers’ in thirty.

**dickhead's husband:** les gooooo

**[1:34 pm]**

**captain america:** Okay, who’s going with who?

**indiana mike:** i already have will, stan, bill, eddie, and shitbag

**dickhead:** ﬂattery will get u nowhere asshole

**indiana mike:** i'd rather be the ass hole than the whole ass like you

**dickhead's husband:** mike can i just tell you how much i love you?

**mom™ and son™**

**mom™:** u went the jealousy route

**mom™:** i like it

**son™:** not intentional

**son™:** but if it works then who am i to judge

**mom™:** AHA you didnt dismiss me

**son™:** eh i’m ready for this to happen already

**son™:** no more running

**mom™:** what changed ur mind?

**son™:** i don’t really know

**son™:** it might have been mike w. insulting richie

**son™:** even though i know it’s just them being cousins

**son™:** but i had the urge to be like

**son™:** “i’m the only one who can call him shitbag, shitbag”

**[1:38 pm]**

**son™:** bev?

**queer commandos**

**dickhead’s husband:** what happened to bev?

**daaaaaammmnn:** no fucking clue

**daaaaaammmnn:** but can someone make sure shes breathing?

**mom™ and son™**

**son™:** BEV

**mom™:** sorry sorry

**mom™:** just had to squeal a little

**son™:** people are on to you

**son™:** just be more discreet okay?

**mom™:** no promises love

**mom™:** but ill try

**[9:27 pm]**

**queer commandos**

**sister maxine:** make sure to send pics from today

**sister maxine:** i especially want the pic of bill falling in the goddamn lake

**christ almikey:** billvsthelake.jpg

**just a bill:** my ass is still wet no thanks to you

**dickhead:** yeah it is

**dickhead's husband:** ok say goodnight to the lovely people rich

**dickhead's husband:** its past your bedtime

**dickhead:** night ladies and gents

**dickhead:** elvis has the left the building

**dickhead's husband:** night all

**january embers:** me and ben are gonna head off 2

**winter ﬁre:** see y’all in the morning

**christ almikey:** me too

**captain america:** And me.

**daaaaaammmnn:** make that 3

**sherlock:** goodnight!

**sister maxine:** night homos

**indiana mike:** good night to maxine and maxine only

**sister maxine:** dont use me as a jealousy ploy wheeler

**indiana mike:** i would never

**daaaaaammmnn:** jealousy 4 who

**indiana mike:** i thought you were asleep

**just a bill:** okay we get it!

**just a bill:** one great big gay goodnight from everyone to everyone

**[11:46 pm]**

**stanley and el**

**el:** are you still up?

**el:** i was wondering if we could talk

**stanley:** Yeah. What’s up?

**el:** ﬁrstly i want to apologize for today

**el:** i kind of had a dream

**el:** and you were in it

**el:** and it gave me some weird vibes

**stanley:** Can I ask you a question?

**el:** not what i thought you were gonna say but shoot

**stanley:** Do you get nosebleeds a lot?

**el:** only sometimes

**el:** why?

**stanley:** I don’t have an answer for that yet, but can I ask one more question?

**el:** i mean, i guess

**stanley:** Is El short for Eleven?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> »Damn, it's that pesky plot point again, flying around my head and being annoying and shit.  
»Me? Projecting my favorite musicals onto fictional characters? It's more likely than you think. (My fave is Be More Chill. What's yours'?)  
»Next chapter is one of my faves. You guys reddie?  
»Love you guys! Thanks for reading!  
»Check me out on tumblr (main: hi-hello-hey-there, it/st: toziers-token).
> 
> -B


	5. my gaydar is impeccable

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... I know.  
In my defense, college got crazy busy literally out of nowhere and I didn't have the time to edit for a couple of weeks, but I think we'll be back to our regularly scheduled programming (at least until finals). On that note, welcome back! I got all your lovely comments and kudos and I love you all so much! Enjoy!

**[Sunday, June 16]**

**[12:02 am]**

**stanley and el**

**stanley:** El? Are you still there?

**el:** yeah sorry

**el:** my dad came into my room to say goodnight

**stanley:** So…

**el:** so…

**stanley:** You don’t have to answer my question, but it would really be helpful.

**el:** yeah

**el:** el is short for eleven

**el:** are you ten?

**stanley:** I normally don’t tell people this, but yes.

**el:** oh my god

**el:** that’s amazing

**el:** but why were you in my dream?

**stanley:** I was reaching out for help.

**stanley:** It was kind of a shot in the dark. I didn’t even know if there were any others like me who were still alive.

**el:** well, good thing you came to hawkins

**el:** we’re kind of crawling with people like us

**stanley:** What do you mean?

**el:** i met our kind-of-sister kali just recently

**el:** she’s 8

**el:** she’s pretty amazing

**stanley:** I wish I could have met her.

**el:** yeah me too

**el:** but down to business

**el:** why did you need help?

**stanley:** So, most of my powers come from dreams and feelings.

**stanley:** I can send people messages in dreams and get them in return. I can sense people’s moods and give them all sorts of emotions.

**stanley:** But recently, I received what I believe is a vision of the future and I think my friends are in danger.

**el:** oh no

**el:** like how in danger?

**stanley:** When we were twelve, there was an interdimensional demon in the form of a clown that tormented and killed a few kids back in Derry. Bill’s brother, Georgie, got kidnapped, but we found him before anything happened and we thought we killed it.

**stanley:** About a month ago, I got a premonition that the clown, Pennywise, was coming back and somehow I knew me and my friends couldn’t defeat It a second time on our own.

**el:** me and will went through something like that

**el:** will’s not one of the experiments, but he was taken just a few summers ago

**el:** and i was dropped off here in hawkins

**el:** the things that took us -demogorgons we called them- came back a year later and will got possessed by their leader

**el:** we almost didn’t save him

**stanley:** I wonder if our monsters are related.

**el:** what if they’re the same thing?

**stanley:** That would fucking suck.

**el:** yeah it would

**stanley:** Listen, I’d really appreciate if you didn’t tell anyone about this.

**el:** your friends don’t know?

**stanley:** They don’t remember. I took their memories of that dumb fucking clown and made it seem like Georgie was taken by some garden variety criminal. Like our parents and the rest of the town think.

**stanley:** Do your friends know? Or rather, still remember?

**el:** yeah i couldn’t and can’t do that to them

**el:** but i’m sure they’d understand and we could help if you told them

**stanley:** No.

**stanley:** At least not yet.

**stanley:** I need to give my friends their memories back ﬁrst and talk to them before we drag you Hawkinians into it.

**el:** okay it’s totally your choice

**el:** just let me know if you change your mind

**stanley:** I will. I promise.

**stanley:** Good night, El.

**stanley:** And thank you.

**el:** no problem stan

**el:** night

**[6:30 am]**

**queer commandos**

**sister maxine:** KillMeNow.jpg

**daaaaaammmnn:** y the hell r u up this early

**daaaaaammmnn:** also im changing my name

**daaaaaammmnn** changed their name to **this dust-in**

**sister maxine:** orthodontist appointment

**dickhead’s husband:** at least your eyeliner wings are killer

**dickhead’s husband:** seriously how do you do that?!

**sister maxine:** i could do it for u sometime

**dickhead’s husband:** really? i would love that!

**richie rich and billy goat**

**richie rich:** holy shit did u read that

**billy goat:** yeah i’m up

**billy goat:** thanks for asking

**richie rich:** stp being an ass for like 2 mins and help me frk out

**billy goat:** stp? frk?

**richie rich:** biiiiiiillllllll

**billy goat:** yes i read it

**billy goat:** what about it?

**richie rich:** im gonna die

**richie rich:** like if he just shows up 1 day w eyeliner

**richie rich:** ill actually just keel over dead

**richie rich:** iwanttodeadkirby.jpg

**billy goat:** you know what my advice is going to be

**richie rich:** bro

**richie rich:** dont even fuckin say it

**billy goat:** just ask him out already!

**richie rich:** i h8 u

**billy goat:** h8 me all you want but you know i’m right

**billy goat:** you know he’s ﬂirting with you?

**richie rich:** ive stopped listening

**richie rich:** la la la la la fucking la

**billy goat:** if you’re not going to do anything i will

**richie rich:** wait what

**queer commandos**

**just a bill:** richie has something to say

**dickhead:** no i dont

**indiana mike:** okay i guess we’re up now

**just a bill:** to eddie speciﬁcally

**dickhead’s husband:** oh great

**dickhead’s husband:** i’m listening

**richie rich and billy goat**

**richie rich:** 2 can play @ this game

**billy goat:** don’t you dare

**queer commandos**

**dickhead:** ill say my thing if bill says his

**dickhead:** to stan

**just a bill:** is that really all this is going to take?

**the party**

**cleric:** oh my god

**mage:** do you know what’s going on?

**cleric:** i think so

**ranger:** Good. Could you clue me in?

**cleric:** shh lets go back and watch

**bard:** im so confused

**paladin:** i have... an idea…

**queer commandos**

**dickhead:** yes

**just a bill:** then count me in

**salty and jealous:** Am I going to be embarrassed?

**just a bill:** there’s a really good chance

**just a bill:** but i’m going to do it anyway

**january embers:** u dont have to do anything u dont want to bill

**just a bill:** actually i want to

**just a bill:** stan

**salty and jealous:** Yes?

**just a bill:** would you like to go out with me

**this dust-in:** holy shit

**bitchin’:** oh my god

**sherlock:** oh my god

**indiana mike:** oh my god

**captain america:** Holy shit.

**dickhead’s husband:** holy shit indeed

**winter fire:** oh my god

**christ almikey:** oh my god

**january embers:** ok can the peanut gallery stfu???

**bevin and stannah**

**bevin:** u good?

**stannah:** I’m… stunned.

**stannah:** But I am good.

**stannah:** Very good.

**bevin:** good

**bevin:** now go answer ur boy!

**queer commandos**

**salty and jealous:** Yes, Bill, I would love to go out with you.

**just a bill:** thank god

**sherlock:** i knew it!

**sherlock:** partytime.gif

**sister maxine:** i go to the dentist 1 time

**sister maxine:** and i miss this whole ﬁasco

**winter fire:** then don’t go to the dentist next time

**winter fire:** ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

**sister maxine: **dont ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ me hanscom

**just a bill:** alright

**just a bill:** now richie

**dickhead:** i dont know how to say this

**christ almikey:** richie speechless?

**christ almikey:** color me shocked

**dickhead’s husband:** don’t stress over it just breathe

**eds and chee**

**chee:** i would rather do this in person

**chee:** but i dont know how to make u believe me

**eds:** i don’t remember how to get to mike’s house

**eds:** do you want to facetime me?

**chee:** yeah just give me a min to step outside

outgoing facetime call to: **eddie 💛💖😍**

Richie stands numbly in the backyard of the Wheelers’ house, waiting for his call to connect. There’s a humming vibration going through his body as he bounces on his heels. He counts the breaths between rings in hopes that he’ll just fucking calm down before Eddie picks up. _ What is taking so long? _ he thinks. They were just texting each other. Maybe Eddie decided he didn’t want to talk to him after all. Maybe Eddie was kidding. _ I think I’m going to throw up _ is the last thought running through his head before he ﬁnally hears the sound of the call connecting and Eddie’s soft breathing. His face takes up most of the screen, a pink blush residing on his cheekbones, but Richie can see the inside of the Byers-Hopper basement behind him. “Hello,” Richie whispers.

“Hi,” Eddie smiles back at him. “Are you okay?” Richie takes a peek at himself in the little box in the corner. His face is paler than usual and he looks like he’s going to be sick to his stomach.

A shuddering breath forces its way out of Richie’s lungs. “I’m hunky-dory, Eds!” he forces himself to say. “Why do you ask?”

Eddie’s eyebrows scrunch at that and even through the panic attack Richie feels coming on, all can think about is how adorable he looks confused. “No reason,” he says slowly. “Anyway, what was that all about? With the texts and stuff?” For once in his goddamn life, Richie is tongue-tied. He can’t get a word out any way he tries to and oh, lord, does he try. He’s silent for a while, long enough for his phone to blow up with text messages from the group chats and a few solo ones from Bill and Ben and even his cousin. He breathes and tries to make the words come out of his mouth. And Eddie just waits. He is patient with his best friend as whatever is trying to make its way out ﬁghts to do so.

Finally, Richie speaks: “This is going to be hard for you to believe maybe.” A pause. “No, I’m almost certain this is going to be hard for you to believe, but I’m going to say it anyway because it’s eating me alive, Eds. I can’t eat without thinking about if you forgot breakfast again. I can’t drive anywhere without hearing you telling me to slow down. I can’t even sleep without wishing you were lying next to me so that I could hold you.” Now that he’s started talking, Richie can’t seem to shut up and Eddie makes no move to stop him. “I know I make so many jokes about being in love with you, but, god, Eds, I am. I _ really _am. I joke about everything but this is the one thing in my whole life I am being totally honest about. I love you, Eddie Kaspbrak. I love you so damn much some days I think my heart is just going to give me a two weeks notice and leave.” That gets a small laugh out of Eddie and Richie starts to think that maybe he has a shot here. “But I was so scared that you weren’t going to believe me or that I was going to fuck something up that I didn’t tell you until now.”

“Chee,” Eddie coos softly. Richie ﬁnally looks up to make eye contact with him through the camera. There are tears gathered in the corners of his amber eyes and the smile he’s wearing lights up his whole face. “I love you, too. God, the hours I’ve spent talking to Bev about it. She must want to charge me by now or take my ﬁrstborn.” He’s trying to defuse some of the residual awkwardness that comes from any confession of emotion and Richie chuckles. “At ﬁrst, I thought you were just kidding and that’s why I was so harsh to you; I didn’t want to get my heart broken. And then everyone, and I mean every-fucking-one, told me to just go for it. What did I have to lose? I was scared, too, but I was so tired of waiting for everything in life to be handed to me, so I went for it. Kind of.” Eddie laughs at himself and Richie can’t help but smile, tears starting to make his eyes misty as well. “I started to ﬂirt more blatantly and hoped you got the idea and, well, here we are.”

“Ta-da,” Richie adds. The two of them laugh for a bit, the light warmth of the summer sun just then hitting Richie on his back. The feeling of comfort and home and _ Eddie _starts in his chest and spreads through his whole body until he feels his toes tingling in the dewey grass and his hair feels alive. “I love you. I just had to say it again.”

Eddie smiles wider if that’s even possible and says in a soft voice, “I love you, too. So much. Don’t you _ ever _forget it.”

Richie salutes him. “Sir, yes, sir.”

“At ease, you little shit.”

“You wound me, my love.” Richie grasps his chest dramatically, ever the comedian, raising a giggle from Eddie. Another notiﬁcation pops down from the queer commandos. “You see this, right?”

Eddie’s eyes are aimed a little lower than the camera as he reads the text. “Yeah. Do you want to tell them?”

“Tell them what?” Richie asks. He’s not entirely sure how much he wants their friends to know, as well-meaning as they are.

“That I asked you on a date.” Eddie smirks a little and Richie’s monkey brain goes nuts.

He splutters out, “When did that happen?”

“Just now,” Eddie replies suavely.

Richie has to admit it: he’s impressed. “When do you get moves, you smooth motherfucker?”

Eddie just shrugs. “Always had them, I guess.” Richie feels his eyes rolling before he can stop them. “Alright, let’s handle those assholes.”

“Bye, love,” Richie says.

Eddie lets out a humph. “That’s going to take some getting used to. Bye, Chee.” Richie lets Eddie hang up on him, a dopey smile coming over his face before he goes back inside to deal with the douchebags he calls his best friends.

**queer commandos**

**sister maxine:** hello?

**this dust-in:** r u ded?

**captain america:** Really, Dustin?

**this dust-in:** what

**salty and jealous:** I have a feeling that Richie’s avoiding us.

**christ almikey:** but where’s eddie?

**january embers:** holy shit

**just a bill:** this is actually happening

**sherlock:** ha! mike w. owes me 5 bucks

**sherlock:** my gaydar is impeccable

**bitchin’:** not really

**sherlock:** what’s that supposed to mean

**bitchin’:** you’ll ﬁnd out

**bitchin’:** eventually

**winter fire:** setting that creepy aside

**winter fire:** our kids are ﬁnally grown up

**just a bill:** we need to celebrate

**january embers:** any1s families give like next 2 no shits abt alcohol consumption by underage teens?

**indiana mike:** yeah one- that's a biggest motherfucking no imaginable to the alcohol

**indiana mike:** and two- will i have like 2 dollars in dimes maximum

**sherlock:** we can work out a payment plan

**sherlock:** i’m ﬂexible

**sister maxine:** keep the dirty talk in the bedroom bois

**sister maxine:** plz i beg of u

**indiana mike:** stfu mayﬁeld

**sister maxine:** make me wheeler

**dickhead’s husband:** you took bets on us?

**christ almikey:** he’s back!

**salty and jealous:** And not dead.

**captian america:** Wait, where’s the other one?

**dickhead:** present

**dickhead:** and tbh im surprised more people didnt

**just a bill:** so did anything…

**just a bill:** happen

**dickhead:** dress nice billiam

**dickhead:** eddie spaghetti asked me out

**dickhead:** and were going on a double date

**salty and jealous:** No.

**dickhead’s husband:** no offense to stenbrough but thats a veto from me as well

**this dust-in:** stenbrough?

**january embers:** its their ship name

**winter fire:** duh

**this dust-in:** oh my bad

**this dust-in:** i can barly read english

**this dust-in:** and u expect me to read some mashup language?

**this dust-in:** excuse the fuck out of me

**christ almikey:** barly

**captain america:** Good to know that’s what you retained out of Dustin’s childish outburst.

**this dust-in:** stfu sinclair

**captain america:** Make me, Henderson.

**sister maxine:** so pool 2day?

**indiana mike:** sounds good!

**bitchin’:** i can drive

**dickhead:** ill drive 1 of the losers cars

**winter fire:** get ur suits on ladies and gents

**bitchin’:** i’m picking people up in 20

**[2:17 pm]**

**mother gay and baby gay**

**mother gay:** so

**baby gay:** don’t

**mother gay:** what do u think im gonna say

**mother gay:** because there are a few correct answers

**baby gay:** just because mike and i sat outside of the pool to talk for a while doesn’t mean anything

**mother gay:** oh really

**baby gay:** yeah really

**baby gay:** don’t you think i would tell you???

**mother gay:** okay

**mother gay:** but dont make me pull a bill and force u 2 to talk w/ witnesses

**baby gay:** let’s both hope it doesn't get that far

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> »WE HAVE ESTABLISHED REDDIE AND STENBROUGH. I REPEAT, WE HAVE ESTABLISHED REDDIE AND STENBROUGH.  
»Chapter 12 is still kicking my ass and honestly, I'm about ready to just scrap the whole thing and start over.  
»What comes next? Weird ass dreams? Do you know what any of this means? (I'm SORRY! I tried to be Lin Manuel-Miranda and I've FAILED.)  
»Love you guys! Thanks for reading!  
»Check me out on tumblr (main: hi-hello-hey-there, it/st: toziers-token).
> 
> -B


	6. i thought we were gonna hv 2 bring out the crazy stick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... I have no words. Well, actually I have about 1.5k words but you know what I mean. Exams snuck up on me and then my family went on vacation and I know it's no excuse and I'm sorry! However, I promise I'm working on the last chapter and a half as we speak and I hope to keep updating into next year. Thanks for your patience! Also, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Merry Christmas, Joyous Yule, and any other holiday you all celebrate! Make sure to eat some really yummy food for me and have fun with whoever you're celebrating with! Now, onto the show! -B

**[Thursday, June 20]**

**[3:03 am]**

**queer commandos**

**just a bill:** so i just had the weirdest dream?

**just a bill:** like very unsettling

**bitchin’:** i’m listening

**just a bill:** i should start by saying my brother got kidnapped a few years ago

**just a bill:** don’t worry

**just a bill:** he’s fine now

**just a bill:** but i dreamt that the guy who kidnapped him was a clown?

**just a bill:** and we had to go into the sewers to fight him??

**just a bill:** am i crazy???

**winter fire:** no more than usual

**bitchin’:** sometimes dreams are weird

**bitchin’:** there’s nothing we can do to change that

**sister maxine:** ive had some pretty fuckt up dreams in the past

**sister maxine:** nothing wrong with it

**just a bill:** but i haven’t dreamt about it in years

**stanley and el**

**el:** i don’t know if you’re seeing these

**el:** but i think it would be better to tell your friends sooner rather than later

**stanley:** Yeah, I guess so.

**stanley:** It’s getting harder to hide how often my nose bleeds.

**el:** can you feel your hold on their memories slipping or something?

**stanley:** No.

**stanley:** It’s just getting more exhausting to keep so many memories from so many people at once.

**el:** that can’t possibly be good for your health

**stanley:** I promise I’ll tell them soon.

**stanley:** I just need to figure out how to tell them I’ve been lying to them for six years.

**el:** i’m sure they’ll understand

**el:** they’re your friends

**el:** let me know if i can help at all

**stanley:** I will.

**[9:19 am]**

**queer commandos**

**dickhead:** can we talk abt y bill though his bro wuz kidnapped by a clown

**sherlock:** your brother was kidnapped by a clown?

**just a bill:** no it was just a dream

**this dust-in:** ok good

**this dust-in:** i thought we were gonna hv 2 bring out the crazy stick

**just a bill:** i told you i was crazy!

**indiana mike:** dreams r dreams dude

**indiana mike:** sometimes they make no sense

**sister maxine:** michael has spoken

**captain america:** If anyone as an objection, speak now or forever hold your peace.

**dickhead’s husband:** let’s just drop it huh?

**christ almikey:** sounds good

**winter fire:** anyway

**winter fire:** is there any way we could use today for just cjilling together

**christ almikey:** cjilling

**bitchin’:** you guys should totally come to mine and will’s

**sherlock:** yeah

**sherlock:** we can play games and/or watch movies

**sherlock:** and everyone can sleep over

**dickhead:** that sounds rly nice

**bitchin’:** you can come over whenever

**bitchin’:** joyce and my dad are out of town for the rest of the week

**dickhead’s husband:** party to the riff of dawn!

**indiana mike:** dude jordan’s mom just died

**captain america:** Small kickback?

**christ almikey:** *nods in agreement*

**sister maxine:** ive never been so proud of my generation

**[11:17 am]**

**this dust-in:** someone let me in

**this dust-in:** i brought ice cream n its melting

**christ almikey:** my man!

**[2:43 pm]**

**bev and max**

**max:** plz send me the pic u just took

**max:** i want 2 hold it over wills head for eternity

**bev:** no prob babe

**bev:** mikewthirsting4will.jpg

**bev:** think anyone else saw?

**max:** only everyone w/ eyes

**bev:** oh good

**bev:** so theyre like eddie and richie b4 they were reddie

**max:** yes exactly

**bev:** i feel like wills the sensible 1 here

**bev:** have u tried…

**bev:** convincing him 2 talk 2 mike

**max:** just a couple billion times

**max:** he doesnt believe when i say mike gives him heart eyes all the time

**bev:** i think it’s time to bring in the big guns

**bev** added **el** to the group chat

**bev** named the group chat **girl power**

**bev:** help

**el:** what are we scheming

**max:** getting mike and will 2gether

**el:** finally!

**el:** you don’t know how long i’ve waited for this

**max:** u were dating mike up until 2 weeks ago??

**el:** that was just a formality

**el:** i haven’t like him like that for a while

**bev:** damn girl

**bev:** i like it

**el:** so what can i do to help

**max:** anything

**bev:** what can we do to get these 2 idiots to admit their feelings 4 each other

**el:** i just might have an idea

**el** made a group chat: **operation byler**

**el** added **max** to **operation byler**

**el** added **bev** to **operation byler**

**el** added **nancy** to **operation byler**

**el** added **holly** to **operation byler**

**el** added **jonathan** to **operation byler**

**el**: welcome

**nancy:** what am I doing here?

**nancy:** also hi everyone

**nancy:** i don’t know bev

**bev:** im a friend of richies

**holly:** how do u put up w him

**bev:** its a gift

**el:** ANYWAY

**el:** nancy is mike’s older sister

**el:** holly is mike’s younger sister

**el:** and jonathan is mine and will’s older brother

**jonathan:** hi

**jonathan:** what am i doing here??

**max:** uve been called to a meeting

**bev:** to finally get mike and will 2gether

**jonathan:** don’t u think it’s a little...

**jonathan:** intrusive?

**jonathan:** to force people together

**nancy:** that’s exactly what dustin did to you me n steve

**jonathan:** ok point made

**holly:** wut can we do 2 help

**max:** firstly talk to them

**max:** they dont believe us

**max:** maybe theyll believe ppl in a relationship

**jonathan:** yeah right

**nancy: **you shush

**bev:** how old are you holly

**holly:** im 12

**bev:** perfect

**bev:** use ur age to ur advantage

**bev:** make comments we cant get away with

**holly:** like wut

**el:** “hey mike, is your bf coming to dinner?”

**max:** “can i borrow will 4 a sec? i need ur bf’s help with something”

**holly:** ok

**holly:** sounds good

**bev:** we should get back

**bev:** the boys are getting suspicious

**queer commandos**

**dickhead:** girls pay attention 2 the movie challenge failed

**this dust-in:** wth r u guys up 2

**just a bill:** they’re ignoring us

**dickhead’s husband:** no shit

**sherlock:** why do i have a bad feeling about this?

**captain america:** Probably for a good reason.

**christ almikey:** theres a 99.7% chance they’re scheming

**indiana mike:** whats the other .3 %

**christ almikey:** girl stuff

**salty and jealous:** Really, Michael?

**salty and jealous:** What are you, twelve?

**winter fire:** its def scheming

**winter fire:** ive seen that face on bev 2 often

**captain america:** Hold on.

**totally tubular**

**lukey:** Max, are you scheming?

**maxie:** mmhmm

**dusty:** and is it abt mike n will??

**maxie:** mmhmm

**lukey:** Keep us in the loop next time?

**dusty:** u no i thrive on their bullshit

**maxie:** will do

**queer commandos**

**january embers:** rly mike h

**january embers:** girl stuff

**january embers:** u no me better than that

**bitchin’:** yeah really

**sister maxine:** girl stuff woulve been an out loud convo

**christ almikey:** fine

**christ almikey:** i made a mistake

**christ almikey:** happy?

**sister maxine:** mmhmm

**[10:35 pm]**

**sherlock:** omg please look at these pics

**sherlock:** mikew-losing-monopoly.jpg

**sherlock:** the-gingers-beat-everyone-at-sorry.jpg

**sherlock:** stan-thowing-game-pieces-at-richie.jpg

**sherlock:** dustin-stop-flipping-the-bird.jpg

**sherlock:** lucas-and-mikeh-stole-my-phone.jpg

**sherlock:** byers-and-hoppers-are-clearly-superior.jpg

**sherlock:** ben-and-eddie-the-last-losers-standing.jpg

**dickhead:** stan loves me

**dickhead:** dont let him fool u

**salty and jealous:** Don’t push it, dumbass.

**just a bill:** richie step off my man challenge failed

**winter fire:** how were me n eddie the last 2 for twister

**dickhead’s husband:** honestly idk man

**dickhead’s husband:** talent i guess

**sister maxine:** aw mike ur so pouty

**bitchin’:** and so bad at monopoly

**indiana mike:** dont mock me mayfield

**indiana mike:** u either hopper

**this dust-in:** u shouldve knowwn better my dude

**christ almikey:** knowwn

**this dust-in:** *deep sigh*

**january embers:** aw look @ mike h and lucas

**just a bill:** mike h. x lucas is my new otp

**dickhead:** wuts their shipname

**dickhead’s husband:** mikas

**indiana mike:** lumike

**january embers:** sinclanlon

**sister maxine:** i think were missing the obvi choice

**sister maxine:** hanclair

**dickhead’s husband:** you know what you’re right

**[11:01 pm]**

**christ almikey:** will someone get me a coke

**sherlock:** we don’t have coke is pepsi ok?

**christ almikey:** …

**christ almikey:** i can’t tell if that’s a joke or not

**bitchin’:** we have coke

**bitchin’:** i’ll get it

**bitchin’:** anything else while i’m up?

**sister maxine:** ice cream?

**just a bill:** m&ms?

**january embers:** ill help carry

**dickhead:** skittles ??

**dickhead’s husband:** double on that ice cream pls

**winter fire:** double on the m&ms

**indiana mike:** make that triple

**bitchin’:** coming right up

**[Friday, June 21]**

**[1:27 am]**

**stanley and el**

**el:** don’t think i didn’t see that

**el:** i’m worried about you

**stanley:** I can’t get my nose to stop bleeding.

**el:** need help?

**stanley:** Not yet. I think I have it under control for now.

**stanley:** I guess I have to tell them, huh?

**el:** this is ultimately your choice

**el:** but i would say yes

**stanley:** I can’t do this anymore. And I need them ready for if I get another premonition.

**el:** when are you telling them?

**stanley:** Tonight.

**stanley:** I’m going to release their memories and also a message from me.

**el:** do you need help for that?

**stanley:** Maybe. My energy is low.

**el:** i can help with that

**el:** and also emotional support

**stanley:** I’ll definitely need that.

**stanley:** I guess I’ll tell them after everyone has fallen asleep.

**el:** sounds like a plan

**el:** whenever you’re ready

**[1:59 am]**

**queer commandos**

**sherlock:** one more

**sherlock:** derry-and-hawkins-selfie4.jpg

**[2:19 am]**

**stanley and el**

**el:** i think everyone is asleep

**stanley:** Okay.

**stanley:** I’ll do it at 2:30.

**[2:54 am]**

**stanley:** I can hear them sqiurming.

**stanley:** I hate this.

**el:** you did the right thing

**el:** promise

**stanley:** Still…

**el:** yeah i know

**el:** just try to get some sleep

**el:** you look exhausted

**stanley:** I will.

**stanley:** And thank you so much, El.

**el:** anytime, stan

**el:** i mean that

**[4:38 am]**

**the losers club**

**sweet creature:** did the rest of you have that dream?

**haystack:** yeah

**big bill:** i can’t breathe

**michael with a b:** neither can i

**molly ringwald:** fuck

**trashmouth:** stan?

**stan the man:** I have something to tell you guys.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> »I'm still getting used to the idea that I can sleep in since I'm on break right now. How are y'alls breaks going?  
»A cliffhanger, Blue? Yes, my lovely readers, a cliffhanger. You should expect these from me by now.  
»I kind of love the next chapter? It's so stupid but I love it.  
»Love you guys! Thanks for reading! Happy holidays!  
»Check me out on tumblr (main: hi-hello-hey-there, it/st: toziers-token).
> 
> -B


	7. i do wut i want denbrough

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just gonna stop making promises as to when I put stuff out, but I want to have some buffer before chapter 12 so you're not waiting on my touch-and-go writer's block. Sorry! Anyway, Happy New Year! I wish all the best things to each and every one of you. Enjoy!

**[Friday, June 21]**

**[5:03 am]**

**the losers club**

**big bill:** so you mean to tell me

**big bill:** a demon clown killed all those people when we were 12

**trashmouth:** and its coming back

**haystack:** and and you’re telepathic or something???

**michael with a b:** and and and you kept our memories from us to protect us?

**molly ringwald:** u have 2 understand how fucking batshit that sounds stanley

**sweet creature:** but we all saw them

**sweet creature:** how could we have dreamed the same thing at the same time?

**sweet creature:** /that’s/ batshit

**stan the man:** You have every right to be mad at me for taking your memories, but you have to understand I did it to keep you safe.

**stan the man:** We didn’t know if we really killed It and it turns out we didn’t.

**stan the man:** It was better if you didn’t remember.

**trashmouth:** so where tf did ur powers come from

**stan the man:** Do you know about MKUltra?

**haystack:** vaguely

**molly ringwald:** oh i no abt this

**molly ringwald:** it was a government program from the 50s

**molly ringwald:** scientists tried to induce mind control powers in their test subjects using lsd and a bunch of other shit

**molly ringwald:** it was super illegal

**sweet creature:** not to mention super dangerous

**sweet creature:** a lot of people believe the scientists achieved what they wanted

**stan the man:** They did.

**stan the man:** And they do.

**big bill:** are you saying mkultra is still up and running?

**stan the man:** Yes.

**haystack:** i want to say i don’t believe you

**michael with a b:** but i know you wouldn’t lie like that

**stan the man:** I was an experiment when I was a kid.

**stan the man:** There’s a lab just outside of Derry that I ran away from when I was eight. My dad worked at the lab but he didn’t know what they did and so he and my mom helped me disappear. They're technically my adopted parents.

**trashmouth:** stan

**haystack:** i’m so sorry

**stan the man:** What are you sorry for? I’m the one who should be apologizing.

**haystack:** you’ve been carrying around this knowledge for a long time

**haystack:** i can’t imagine how scary it’s been

**michael with a b:** but also thank you

**michael with a b:** for protecting us

**molly ringwald:** group hug?

**stan the man:** Yeah, I could take one of those.

**big bill:** we’re coming

**sweet creature:** and we’re not leaving any time soon

**trashmouth:** not ever

**[6:41 am]**

**queer commandos**

**this dust-in:** lads

**this dust-in:** its missin suzie hours

**indiana mike:** aren’t you seeing her this summer

**this dust-in:** ye but thats not 4 another 3 weeks

**dickhead’s husband:** pardon me

**dickhead’s husband:** but whomst the fuck is suzie

**this dust-in:** only the love of my life

**salty and jealous:** Is she real?

**this dust-in:** u no wot fuck u uris

**captain america:** Suzie’s 100% real. She’s awesome.

**this dust-in:** ty lukey

**captain america:** You’re not, Henderson.

**bitchin’:** she’s more than awesome

**bitchin’:** she practically saved our lives

**the party**

**bard:** EL

**bard:** R U CRAZY

**cleric:** oh relax

**paladin:** no harm done yet

**mage:** sorry

**mage:** i wasn’t thinking

**zoomer:** step back boys

**zoomer:** and el

**queer commandos**

**sister maxine:** yeah suzie is the only 1 who can settle these idiots arguments

**bitchin’:** we all went to visit her last summer and the boys would literally not stop fighting

**sister maxine:** she has a superpower i swear

**january embers:** girl power

**bitchin’:** lets add her

**sister maxine:** totally

**dickhead:** wut

**january embers:** anyway

**just a bill:** stop stealing my thing

**january embers:** i do wut i want denbrough

**january embers:** plans 4 2day??

**indiana mike:** i actually had an idea

**captain america:** Mike thinking? It’s going to snow.

**indiana mike:** eat shit sinclair

**winter fire:** speak mike w

**indiana mike:** town-wide sharks and minnows

**salty and jealous:** That sounds like fun.

**christ almikey:** how would that work?

**indiana mike:** one hawkinian and one derrian start as sharks

**indiana mike:** everyone else hides

**indiana mike:** walking only no bikes or cars

**the party**

**paladin:** no powers

**mage:** yeah yeah

**queer commandos**

**indiana mike:** everyone stays outside

**dickhead’s husband:** so no buildings?

**just a bill:** that would be what outside means

**dickhead’s husband:** stfu denbrough

**indiana mike:** last man standing wins

**january embers:** ahem

**indiana mike:** or woman

**january embers:** ty

**sister maxine:** ill make a list for teams

**dickhead:** sounds good

**indiana mike:** awesome

**indiana mike:** we start at dusk

**christ almikey:** i want to be the first shark

**captain america:** I’ll help him.

**the losers club**

**stan the man:** No crush my ass.

**trashmouth:** if mikey doesnt have a crush then neither does lucas

**michael with a b:** stfu

**haystack:** them’s the facts

**big bill:** gotta live with them hanlon

**sweet creature:** ^^^

**molly ringwald:** ^^^

**queer commandos**

**dickhead:** so wut r we doing the rest of the day

**sherlock:** i’ll make pancakes

**dickhead:** sold

**[11:02 am]**

**the party**

**zoomer:** so lucas

**ranger:** Oh, god.

**zoomer:** when were u gonna tell us about ur crush

**ranger:** What crush?

**paladin:** don’t bullshit us

**cleric:** i saw you looking @ mike h

**cleric:** plus you only ate like 2 of my pancakes

**cleric:** i thought you were sick

**mage:** you should go for it!

**mage:** you two would be cute!!

**bard:** lukey!

**bard:** go get ur mans my dude

**ranger:** Let’s talk about that time Will asked about flirting with someone.

**bard:** hmm

**bard:** no

**mage:** but we will be coming back to that

**cleric:** fuck you sinclair

**paladin:** well shit

**el **and **mikey**

**el:** look i know will never swears

**el:** and that’s clearly a thing for you

**el:** but you might want to wipe the drool from your chin

**el:** HA

**el:** i can’t believe you fell for that

**mikey:** you’re as bad as richie

**el:** thank you

**[1:53 pm]**

**lucas **and **mike h**

**mike h:** so what’s the strategy for tonight

**lucas:** I’m thinking we let them squirm a little.

**lucas:** Wait to go looking for them until it’s dark.

**mike h:** that’s good!

**mike h:** it’ll give us time to talk

**mike h:** just the two of us

**lucas:** Yeah, that would be nice.

**the party**

**ranger:** Okay.

**ranger:** I’m ready to talk about it.

**ranger:** CueMeScreamingScreenshot.jpg

**bard:** “that would be nice”

**bard:** what the fuck

**bard:** is that all u got

**paladin:** also blocking your strategy is dirty

**cleric:** leave him alone

**cleric:** mike h obviously likes you lucas

**mage:** like i said

**mage:** you should go for it

**mage:** you’ve got nothing to lose!

**ranger:** Easier said than done.

**bard:** ur 1 of the bravest ppl i no

**bard:** u can do anything

**ranger:** Thanks, Dustin.

**zoomer:** look at my lukey

**zoomer:** all gorwn up

**ranger:** Ha, gorwn.

**zoomer:** u and mike h deserve each other

**[8:47 pm]**

**queer commandos**

**indiana mike:** i hope everyone is ready

**indiana mike:** shit’s about to get real

**captain america:** Everyone got your flashlights?

**dickhead’s husband:** check

**just a bill:** check

**salty and jealous:** Check.

**sister maxine:** check

**bitchin’:** check !

**dickhead:** check

**winter fire:** check

**indiana mike:** check

**sherlock:** check

**january embers:** check

**this dust-in:** check

**christ almikey:** alright

**christ almikey:** go hide!

**[8:52 pm]**

**team 1- richie**, **el**, and **ben**

**richie:** alright bitchin

**richie:** where r we going

**ben:** the whole town is in limits?

**el:** yeah it is

**el:** i’m thinking we head out to town hall

**el:** stay in plain sight

**ben:** lead the way

**[8:58 pm]**

**team 2- will**,** eddie**, **max**, and **bill**

**eddie:** what’s the plan team?

**max:** u thinking what im thinking

**will:** the woods

**will:** near castle byers?

**bill:** what the hell is a castle byers?

**max:** follow us

**[9:02 pm]**

**team 3- mike w**,** bev**, **stan**, and** dustin**

**dustin:** i have absolutely no idea where 2 hide

**bev:** wut about the quarry

**mike w:** we’d have to be careful getting down there

**stan:** Let’s get going then.

**[9:30 pm]**

**team 2**

**bill:** i hear footsteps!

**eddie:** scramble!

**will:** they got me

**will:** go run!

**max:** well remember u

**will** left **team 2**

**[9:37 pm]**

**team 1**

**el:** they have will

**el:** i can see them now

**ben:** be quiet

**richie:** shit

**ben:** what

**richie:** i have to sneeze

**el:** shit

**ben:** plug your nose?

**richie:** no its 2 late

**richie:** leave me 2 the sharks

**el:** let’s go ben!

**richie** left **team 1**

**[9:51 pm]**

**team 3**

**stan:** It has been suspiciously quiet.

**dustin:** maybe they didnt get this far yet

**bev:** you spoke 2 soon my dudes

**bev:** here they come

**mike w:** move quickly and quietly if you’re in their line of sight

**stan:** My foot is stuck and they’re coming my way.

**bev:** ill distract them

**bev:** dustin and mike go help stan

**dustin:** bev no!

**dustin:** u’ll get caught

**bev:** go

**mike w:** thanks bev

**bev** left **team 3**

**[10:00 pm]**

**team 1**

**ben:** where to now

**el:** out to benny’s?

**el:** he has some things we can hide behind in his alley

**ben:** wait shh

**ben:** i hear bev

**el:** that was kinda cute ngl

**ben:** they got her

**el:** come on ben

**el:** we have to move

**el:** they’ll see you

**ben:** carry on team 1’s legacy el

**ben** left **team 1**

**[10:11 pm]**

**team 2**

**eddie:** do you guys hear that?

**max:** it sounds like the sharks are growing in numbers

**bill:** those bastards are filming

**max:** that should be funny

**eddie:** shhhh

**eddie:** they’re right under us

**bill:** please don’t look up

**max:** my foot is dangling

**max:** but if i move it theyll hear me

**max:** fuck they saw me anyway

**max:** go!

**eddie:** guys?

**bill:** they saw me too

**bill:** good luck eddie

**max** left **team 2**

**bill** left **team 2**

**[10:25 pm]**

**team 3**

**stan:** Flash your lights twice if you’re out of the quarry.

**stan:** I’ll come find you.

**mike w:** did you see mine?

**stan:** Yep. I’m on my way.

**dustin:** abort! abort!

**dustin:** theyre coming

**mike w:** get out of here stan

**mike w:** you can still make it

**dustin:** theres 2 many of them

**stan:** I’m sorry, guys.

**dustin** left **team 3**

**mike w** left **team 3**

**[10:31 pm]**

**stanley **and **el**

**stanley:** El, is that you sneaking around by the dumpsters?

**el:** stan?

**el:** oh thank god i thought you were a shark

**stan:** They just got Mike W. and Dustin.

**stan:** But I didn’t see Eddie with them.

**el:** good

**el:** i think it’s best if we stay solo

**el:** harder to find us all that way

**stanley:** Okay. Good plan.

**stanley:** Good luck.

**el:** you too!

**[Sunday, June 23]**

**[12:19 am]**

**queer commandos**

**bitchin’:** i can’t believe you tricked me like that eddie!

**bitchin’:** you’re the worst

**dickhead’s husband:** i’m sorry!

**dickhead’s husband:** they made me!

**dickhead:** that means stan the man won

**salty and jealous:** I try.

**captain america:** I have a shit ton of videos to send in the morning.

**captain america:** But for now I’m exhausted.

**captain america:** Good night!

**january embers:** night all!

**the party**

**ranger:** So…

**zoomer:** omg spill

**cleric:** something happened didn’t it

**mage:** lucas!

**bard:** im dying over here m8

**ranger:** I may or may not have kissed Mike H.

**paladin:** dude!

**paladin:** way to go!

**zoomer:** tell us EVERYTHING

**ranger:** We were talking and waiting and he just looked so cute so I kissed him and now we have a date tomorrow.

**mage:** theofficecelebration.gif

**bard:** i new u could do it

**cleric:** congrats lucas but i’m tired so

**cleric:** night!

**mother gay **and **baby gay**

**mother gay:** u ok?

**baby gay:** sure

**mother gay:** i dont think u r

**mother gay:** but i wont push it

**baby gay:** it’s just

**baby gay:** everyone seems to be pairing up

**baby gay:** and i don’t have the guts to say anything

**mother gay:** i feel ya

**baby gay:** no you don’t

**baby gay:** you’re just saying that

**mother gay:** can i tell u smthing?

**baby gay:** anything

**mother gay:** i relate 2 that bc

**baby gay:** you like el?

**mother gay:** how did u no?

**baby gay:** because i know you max

**baby gay:** guess we’re in the same boat huh

**mother gay:** guess we r

**mother gay:** we should get some sleep

**baby gay:** yeah

**baby gay:** good night max

**mother gay:** goodnight will

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> »This one was just kind of fun to write to remind everyone that summer is still enjoyable despite the heat.  
»Forecast for next chapter is exceedingly gay with a dusting of plot.  
»OKAY HAS ANYONE FINISHED THE MANDALORIAN BECAUSE CAN I JUST SAY I LOVE PEDRO PASCAL A LOT OKAY THAT'S IT  
»Love you guys! Thanks for reading!  
»Check me out on tumblr (main: hi-hello-hey-there, it/st: toziers-token).
> 
> -B


	8. don't make me leave the gc

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello and welcome back to this shitstorm of a clusterfuck! I'm still writing chapter 12 (which looks like it will be chapter 12, 13, and perhaps 14 - we'll see) but I read it over a few times and it may not need as much editing as I previously thought. Anyway, enjoy!

**[Monday, July 1]**

**[9:47 am]**

**queer commandos**

**dickhead:** ull never believe the incidint me n haystack just witnessed

**christ almikey:** incidint

**indiana mike:** shut the hell up richie

**january embers:** well now i have 2 hear it

**dickhead:** so i leave the basement for breakfast

**salty and jealous:** This story is already unbelievable.

**salty and jealous:** Richie getting his own food?

**sister maxine:** shut up stan

**sister maxine:** plz continue

**dickhead:** and my cousin holly is already there

**dickhead:** so the 2 of us r eating

**this dust-in:** pick up the pace dude

**dickhead:** im getting there

**dickhead:** then mike comes downstairs and

**dickhead:** no joke

**dickhead:** holly straight up goes

**dickhead:** “did u have fun w ur bf last night”

**dickhead:** and i about pissed myself

**operation byler**

**el:** way to go holly

**max:** a stroke of genius

**bev:** ive never been prouder

**holly:** ty ty i try

**queer commandos**

**winter fire:** wait it gets better

**indiana mike:** et tu ben?

**bitchin’:** shut up mike i want to hear

**winter fire:** so of course richie’s all like “who's the bf”

**winter fire:** and mike just goes redder than a fire truck and goes back upstairs

**dickhead:** i havent seen him since

**indiana mike:** i’m hiding

**just a bill:** from what??

**indiana mike:** you all

**dickhead:** did u think a locked door was going to stop us

**indiana mike:** he climbed in through the window!

**dickhead’s husband:** yeah

**dickhead’s husband:** he has a proficiency for that

**january embers:** of course u no that

**sister maxine:** i cant brEATHE

**sister maxine:** mike omg

**christ almikey:** so who’s the bf

**indiana mike:** I DON’T HAVE ONE

**this dust-in:** then who wuz holly talking abt

**winter fire:** he turned red again

**indiana mike** left **queer commandos**

**bitchin’:** he does this

**sister maxine:** hold on

**sister maxine** added **indiana mike** to **queer commandos**

**indiana mike:** stop that!

**captain america:** Will, you’ve been strangely quiet.

**sherlock:** what?

**sherlock:** i just woke up

**bitchin’:** false

**dickhead:** oh shit

**dickhead:** #calledout

**just a bill:** please,,, i beg of you,,,, stop with the hashtags

**dickhead:** #no

**sherlock:** don’t make me leave the gc

**salty and jealous:** There’s one simple way to solve this problem.

**this dust-in:** plz tell us

**salty and jealous:** Ask Holly.

**january embers:** i agree

**indiana mike:** dear god no

**dickhead’s husband:** well now we have to

**dickhead:** ill do it

**dickhead** added **holly-lujah** to **queer commandos**

**dickhead:** hi holly

**holly-lujah:** hi richie

**bitchin’:** how’d you know it was him?

**holly-lujah:** u forget hes my cousin

**just a bill:** get on w it

**january embers:** hey holly its bev

**holly-lujah:** hi bev!

**january embers:** we need smthng cleared up real quick and then well take u out of the chat

**holly-lujah:** ok

**dickhead:** who were u calling mike’s bf

**operation byler**

**holly:** can i say

**max:** i dont see y not

**el:** yeah go for it

**queer commandos**

**holly-lujah:** will

**holly-lujah:** is that all

**dickhead:** yeah ty

**holly-lujah:** k bye

**january embers** removed **holly-lujah** from **queer commandos**

**captain america:** Well…

**this dust-in:** that was

**just a bill:** unexpected

**bitchin’:** not the word i would use

**[10:00 am]**

**mike **and **will**

**mike:** hey are you there?

**will:** why did holly imply that i’m your boyfriend?

**mike:** you want the truth i’m guessing

**will:** yeah that would be good

**mike:** it’s probably because she knows

**mike:** or at least suspects

**mike:** about my crush on you that is

**mike:** i’ve been meaning to tell you

**mike:** i was just scared

**mike:** and that’s no excuse so i’m sorry

**mike:** forgive me?

**will:** why do i need to forgive you?

**will:** it would be really hypocritical of me

**mike:** are you saying what i think you’re saying?

**will:** i don’t know am i?

**mike:** willlllll

**will:** miiiiiikke

**mike:** i’m dying over here

**will:** i like you too

**will:** have for a while

**will:** i thought max was delusional

**mike:** ??

**will:** she always said you looked at me the way i looked at you

**mike:** definitely not delusional then

**mike:** can i come over?

**mike:** we can spend the day doing nothing

**will:** are you asking me on my dream date michael?

**mike:** if you want me to be william

**will:** come over

**will:** i’ll make lemonade and we can watch netflix

**mike:** be there in 10

**queer commandos**

**dickhead:** is there a reason y mike just left the house

**sherlock:** none at all

**[2:19 pm]**

**winter fire:** best scene in cinematic history you ask?

**sister maxine:** no

**winter fire:** i’m glad you did

**winter fire:** the last scene in catching fire when katniss is crying and then she suddenly stops and looks directly at the camera

**winter fire:** chills

**dickhead’s husband:** let me guess

**dickhead’s husband:** you’re watching thg again?

**january embers:** me n ben decided to have a movie date

**january embers:** since every1 else has plans

**captain america:** Excuse me, I am also on a date.

**salty and jealous:** Me, too.

**dickhead:** me 3

**sherlock:** same

**this dust-in:** im skyping w suzie

**this dust-in:** she says hi

**bitchin’:** are me and max the only ones not on a date?

**sister maxine:** it would seem so

**mother gay **and **baby gay**

**mother gay:** hnnnngng

**baby gay:** poor baby

**mother gay:** shut up

**mikey **and **el**

**mikey:** what the hell are you waiting for?

**el:** i have absolutely no idea what you’re referring to michael

**mikey:** sounds fake but ok

**queer commandos**

**bitchin’:** so what are y’all doing?

**christ almikey:** lucas took me on a picnic

**indiana mike:** me and will are watching the umbrella academy

**dickhead’s husband:** rich took me to the arcade

**just a bill:** me and stan are birdwatching

**bitchin’:** we should meet up for dinner

**captain america:** My mom actually wants y’all to come over. She’s making lasagna.

**winter fire:** omg that’s so sweet

**dickhead:** what time does she want us

**captain america:** She says around 6.

**sister maxine:** see yall then

**[5:19 pm]**

**stanley **and **el**

**stanley:** I had another dream.

**el:** i thought you were on a date

**stanley:** Yeah. We fell asleep outside.

**el:** cute !

**stanley:** It was.

**stanley:** Anyway. I think Pennywise is coming back sooner than I thought.

**el:** what was your dream about?

**stanley:** It was all thirteen of us plus some other people and we were fighting some monster. It was shape shifting so I couldn’t tell exactly what it was, but it seemed to be kicking our asses. We were all bruised and bloody and tired.

**el:** oh

**el:** that sounds a lot like the things we’ve faced

**el:** it might be time to bring team hawkins into it

**el:** we have more people on our side than you think

**stanley:** Soon.

**stanley:** Unfortunately, I’ll have to bring you guys into this, but I’m going to tell the Derrians first.

**el:** alright

**el:** let me know when it’s time to get everyone together

**[9:37 pm]**

**queer commandos**

**captain america:** Here’s a link to the google drive where I put all the pictures and videos from sharks and minnows.

**captain america:** link

**captain america:** Sorry it took a week.

**sister maxine:** i love how the 1st pic is just eddie screaming

**dickhead’s husband:** yeah who the fuck even took that picture

**christ almikey:** guilty

**dickhead’s husband:** i could never stay mad at you mikey

**christ almikey:** :D

**this dust-in:** can we delete the vid of me screaming plz

**this dust-in:** i have a reputation

**indiana mike:** yeah the reputation of being a huge fuckin nerd

**this dust-in:** stfu wheeler

**just a bill:** the picture of stan pouting is my new bg

**salty and jealous:** No it’s not.

**just a bill:** mynewbackgroundss.jpg

**just a bill:** yes it is

**sherlock:** oh y’all in LOVE love

**bitchin’:** when will i have a love like this

**indiana mike:** hey!

**bitchin’:** shut up mike

**michael **and **maxine**

**michael:** now’s your chance

**michael:** shoot your shot

**maxine:** yeah id rather die than talk abt feelings

**maxine:** specifically gay feelings for el

**michael:** you know i just want you guys to be happy right?

**michael:** will told me that you kept trying to encourage him to talk to me

**maxine:** well thats because u 2 r so oblivious

**maxine:** u both needed a kick in the ass

**michael:** consider this your kick then

**michael:** tellherthetruth.gif

**maxine:** dont exploit my love of robin williams

**maxine:** thats a low blow even for you wheeler

**michael:** *sigh* i tried

**[Tuesday, July 2]**

**[4:19 am]**

**queer commandos**

**bitchin’:** who wants to sneak out and get ice cream?

**dickhead:** me plz

**just a bill:** same

**january embers:** me as well

**sherlock:** me too

**sister maxine:** i can drive

**[9:28 am]**

**indiana mike:** did you at least bring me some?

**dickhead’s husband:** yeah you insomniac heathens

**sister maxine:** actually yes

**salty and jealous:** That’s so nice?

**christ almikey:** thank you

**winter fire:** where’d you guys go at ass o’ clock in the morning?

**bitchin’:** this little shop right outside hawkins

**bitchin’:** they sell deserts 24 hours a day

**just a bill:** i put the ice cream in the henderson’s freezer

**just a bill:** but i’m exhausted so you have to come get it

**this dust-in:** well u were up @ 4 in the damn morning

**this dust-in:** come get some ice cream b4 i eat it all

**captain america:** There better be some when I get there, Henderson.

**this dust-in:** quartofcreamydeliciousness.jpg

**this dust-in:** the lids off sinclair

**just a bill:** do me a favor and stfu when y’all get here

**just a bill:** i’m taking a nap

**[9:56 am]**

**billy **and** stanny**

**stanny:** I’m at the Henderson’s. Are you still awake?

**billy:** unfortunately

**billy:** lucas and dustin are so loud

**stanny:** Want me to come down and take a nap with you?

**billy:** you don’t want ice cream?

**stanny:** Not this early in the morning.

**stanny:** So? Nap?

**billy:** yes please

**billy:** love you

**stanny:** Love you, too.

**[10:20 am]**

**queer commandos**

**dickhead:** has any1 seen stan

**this dust-in:** he might be in the basement w bill

**sister maxine:** y didnt we invite him up for the movie

**this dust-in:** he was pretty tired

**dickhead’s husband:** hell be cranky if he doesn’t rest

**january embers:** ill go check

**sherlock:** how much money on them cuddling?

**indiana mike:** i can’t lose more money to will

**bitchin’:** yeah i know better than to bet against you

**winter fire:** bev’s probably taking a picture as we spak

**christ almikey:** spak

**christ almikey:** y’all were doing so well too

**captain america:** All right. Calm down, hun.

**january embers:** u were right will

**sherlock:** as always

**january embers:** stenbroughcuddling.jpg

**january embers:** look how cute!

**sister maxine:** damn straight

**salty and jealous:** Straight’s the wrong word to use.

**captain america:** Damn gay.

**salty and jealous:** That’s more like it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> »If y'all squint you can probably see some plot idk this was just fun little filler and relationship progression.  
»There's an insomnia cookies on my campus and if you've never been, you've been depriving yourself.  
»The next chapter has a fun little cameo and some _ACTUAL_ plot development.  
»Love you guys! Thanks for reading!  
»Check me out on tumblr (main: hi-hello-hey-there, it/st: toziers-token).
> 
> -B


	9. the peanur gallery can vote

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! FUN NEWS: I FINALLY FINISHED CHAPTER 12 AND 13 I'M SO PROUD OF MYSELF. Also, I really like this chapter (I say that about all the chapters, but I _am_ a little biased) and I hope you do too. Enjoy!

**[Wednesday, July 10]**

**[11:58 am]**

**queer commandos**

**sister maxine:** so

**sister maxine:** we never actually fixed stans screen name

**indiana mike:** it’s probably because that was just a distraction

**dickhead:** no it wasnt

**indiana mike:** i’m your cousin richie

**indiana mike:** i know you better than you think

**dickhead:** shut the hell up asshat

**salty and jealous:** Three things- I actually don’t like my screen name, poor Mike, and I’m touched you remembered, Max.

**sister maxine:** flattery will get you nowhere uris

**january embers:** don’t listen to her

**january embers:** she’s smiling

**this dust-in:** so wut do u want to change ur name 2

**salty and jealous:** I have no idea.

**dickhead:** im gonna throw out a few names

**dickhead’s husband:** christ

**dickhead:** the peanur gallery can vote

**christ almikey:** peanur

**just a bill:** anYWAY

**just a bill:** the names?

**sherlock:** here we go

**dickhead:** staniel

**winter fire:** no

**dickhead:** stanthony

**captain america:** Nope.

**dickhead:** stantonio banderas

**christ almikey:** are these just the names you call him in person?

**dickhead:** maaaaayybe

**dickhead:** ur mom

**bitchin’:** what?

**dickhead:** dickhead’s mistress

**salty and jealous:** Absolutely fucking not.

**dickhead:** im all out!

**dickhead:** u people have no taste

**january embers:** didnt patty call you sedanly

**salty and jealous:** Yeah, she did. How did I forget that?

**salty and jealous** changed their name to **sedanly**

**sedanly:** Better already.

**captain america:** Who’s Patty?

**sherlock:** and sedanly?

**sedanly:** Patty’s my ex-girlfriend.

**dickhead’s husband:** and sedanly came from the fact that stan drove his mom’s sedan everywhere

**this dust-in:** ex girlfriend?

**sedanly:** Guess I’m not the gold star gay you thought I was.

**sedanly:** Even thought that whole gay hierarchy is complete bullshit.

**sister maxine:** yes

**sister maxine:** go off stan

**sherlock:** we stan stan

**sherlock:** a woke gay

**sedanly:** I try.

**bitchin’:** ok while we’re at it

**bitchin’:** will i hate your screen name too

**indiana mike:** hey!

**indiana mike:** i came up with that

**winter fire:** it’s time for sherlock to go mike w

**bitchin’:** thank you ben

**january embers:** i have 2 agree

**sherlock:** i’ll change it

**sherlock:** the whole shtick has come and gone

**sherlock:** time for sherlock to die

**captain america:** What the hell did you do to Mike H.?

**this dust-in:** yeah bill kind of just

**this dust-in:** curled up in a ball on the floor

**dickhead’s husband:** they’re still traumatized from the bbc sherlock

**dickhead:** who isnt

**just a bill:** anyway

**january embers:** omg

**january embers:** thats the saddest anyway ive ever seen

**just a bill:** a new name for will?

**christ almikey:** you’re not allowed to answer, trashmouth

**dickhead:** fine

**dickhead:** trash the trashmouth

**dickhead:** i see how it is

**winter fire:** beep beep richie

**this dust-in:** where theres a will

**christ almikey:** too wordy

**captain america:** To Will a Mockingbird?

**sedanly:** What does that even mean?

**captain america:** Honestly, I don’t even know.

**bitchin’:** will the wise

**sherlock:** wow how did i not think of that?

**sherlock** changed their name to **will the wise**

**will the wise:** perfect

**dickhead:** is this some nerdy dnd shit

**will the wise:** yup

**dickhead:** ew

**will the wise:** don’t diss dnd

**will the wise:** i won’t hesitate to cut you

**will the wise:** so shut the fuck up

**dickhead:** feel free to beep me but

**dickhead:** markmedownasscaredandhorny.gif

**sedanly:** Beep beep, asshole.

**indiana mike:** beep beep fucker

**just a bill:** dude what the fuck

**dickhead’s husband:** *deep sigh*

**dickhead’s husband:** when will you learn

**this dust-in:** wHeN wIlL yOu LeArN

**sister maxine:** tHaT yOuR aCtIoNs HaVe CoNsEqUeNcEs

**winter fire:** never gets old

**just a bill:** anyone else want to jump on the name changing bandwagon

**just a bill:** i’m tired of being the fucking referee

**january embers:** go take a nap w ur bf

**january embers:** ull be less cranky

**sedanly:** IVolunteerAsTribute.gif

**indiana mike:** oh mt god

**christ almikey:** mt

**captain america:** I didn’t know he knew how to do that.

**sedanly:** I’m full of surprises.

**dickhead’s husband:** don’t hate me chee

**dickhead’s husband:** but it’s time

**dickhead’s husband:** the username has to go

**dickhead:** :(((((((

**dickhead’s husband:** don’t worry

**dickhead’s husband:** i think you’ll like what i have in mind

**dickhead’s husband** changed their name to **eds**

**eds:** ta da

**dickhead:** I KNEW U LIKED IT

**dickhead:** U LITTLE SHIT

**january embers:** awe

**sister maxine:** awe

**bitchin’:** that’s the cutest thing i’ve ever seen

**sedanly:** Okay.

**sedanly:** That was pretty cute.

**dickhead:** omg stan likes me

**dickhead:** he rly likes me

**sedanly:** Yeah.

**sedanly:** Don’t push it, asshole.

**dickhead:** :))))))))))

**[3:31 pm]**

**just a bill:** so

**just a bill:** i just got off the phone with my brother

**just a bill:** and he want to talk to all of you

**january embers:** omg i would die 4 georgie

**dickhead:** i miss him :(

**sister maxine:** like all of us?

**just a bill:** ye

**sister maxine:** omg im gonna start cryinv

**christ almikey:** cryinv

**christ almikey:** also i miss georgie too

**indiana mike:** that’s so cute

**indiana mike:** i met him that once right?

**indiana mike:** when we came up for richie’s b-day?

**just a bill:** oh yeah

**just a bill:** i’m sure he remembers you

**just a bill:** kid has a mind like a steel trap i swear

**this dust-in:** i would love 2 meet ur bro

**this dust-in:** he sounds cool

**just a bill:** awesome let me set it up real quick

**bill** made a group chat: **everyone say hi georgie**

**bill** added **ben** to the **everyone say hi georgie**

**bill** added **bev** to the **everyone say hi georgie**

**bill** added **dustin** to the **everyone say hi georgie**

**bill** added **eddie** to the **everyone say hi georgie**

**bill** added **el** to the **everyone say hi georgie**

**bill** added **lucas** to the **everyone say hi georgie**

**bill** added **max** to the **everyone say hi georgie**

**bill** added **mike h** to the **everyone say hi georgie**

**bill** added **mike w** to the **everyone say hi georgie**

**bill** added **richie** to the **everyone say hi georgie**

**bill** added **stan** to the **everyone say hi georgie**

**bill** added **will** to the **everyone say hi georgie**

**bill:** everyone behave

**bev:** richie

**richie:** wut

**richie:** i never misbehave

**eddie:** uh huh

**richie:** except w ur mom

**dustin:** wow

**dustin:** how old are u

**stan:** He’s a three-year-old trapped in an eighteen-year-old body.

**bill:** what did i just say

**richie:** i’ll behave

**el:** i’m excited!

**bill** added **georgie** to **everyone say hi georgie**

**bill:** hi georgie

**el:** hi georgie! i’m el!

**georgie:** hi el!

**georgie:** nice to meet you

**max:** i think el just died

**georgie:** oh no! :O

**max:** omg u r so cute

**georgie:** thank you

**richie:** hey g

**georgie:** riiiiiccchhhiiee

**georgie:** do you owe me money yet

**richie:** yes actually

**bill:** wait what?

**bill:** you’re gambling with my baby brother?

**georgie:** i’m 13 billy

**richie:** never 2 early 2 teach em the basics

**stan:** Hey, Georgie.

**stan:** I have a feeling I know what you two bet on.

**georgie:** hi stan!

**georgie:** you’re probably right

**will:** i think i know too

**will:** hi georgie i’m will

**georgie:** hi!

**georgie:** i bet richie that stan and bill would get together before they went off to college

**georgie:** richie said after christmas

**georgie:** i won

**dustin:** i love this kid

**georgie:** andiloveyourandomcitizen.gif

**dustin:** georgie is my new bff

**dustin:** find a new one lucas

**lucas:** Shut it, Dustin.

**georgie:** we can all be best friends

**lucas:** I get it now.

**dustin:** right?

**stan:** I have a confession.

**stan:** I also owe Georgie money.

**georgie:** wait

**georgie:** they finally got together?

**stan:** Uh huh.

**georgie:** FINALLY

**eddie:** stan did you bet on me and richie

**stan:** Uh huh.

**georgie:** and none of you told me?

**georgie:** shame

**ben:** hi bud

**georgie:** hey benny!

**ben:** treehouse still holding up?

**georgie:** like a dream

**bev:** omg my heart

**bev:** my 2 fave boys interacting

**bev:** im ded

**georgie:** hey bev!

**georgie:** hold on

**georgie:** you two are still together right?

**ben:** yeah of course

**georgie:** oh whew

**georgie:** any other couples i should know about

**mike h:** sup georgie?

**georgie:** MIKEY

**georgie:** I MISS YOU SO MUCH

**mike h:** I MISS YOU TOO

**mike h:** also i am part of a couple

**georgie:** yay! with who?

**lucas:** Guilty.

**georgie:** one of my new besties!

**mike w:** hey georgie

**georgie:** hey other mike

**georgie:** are you richie’s cousin?

**mike w:** yup that’s me

**richie:** okay thats so raven

**mike w:** shut up richie

**georgie:** ANYWAY

**georgie:** i do remember you

**georgie:** you were up here for a birthday right?

**mike w:** yeah!

**bill:** told you steel trap

**[4:15 pm]**

**el and will**

**el:** woah what was that?

**will:** don’t make too much of a scene

**will:** i’m in the bathroom

**will:** please come back here

**el:** i’m omw

El rises from the couch where she, Max, Eddie, Bev, and Will (before he made a mad dash for the hallway) were watching a movie. It played on as the group had been chatting with Georgie who, in El’s opinion, was an absolute delight. But there’s more pressing matters right now.

Like why her brother just ran away like someone lit a fire under his ass.

Max gives her a questioning look, to which El just smiles and waves her off before heading for the bathroom. The door is shut when she gets there, but she can see light spilling from underneath it. Knocking gently so as not to alert their guests to the situation, El whispers, “Will?”

The lock clicks and the door swings open just enough for El to squeeze through. She locks it behind her. “Are you alright?”

Will is bent over the sink, staring at the drain like he’s afraid of it. The skin on his knuckles is going white from how hard he’s gripping the edge and his breathing is shallow and fast. He sounds on the verge of a panic attack. El jumps into action, her hand hovering over his back before he nods permission to touch him. When he does, she places it between his shoulder blades and rubs small, hopefully soothing circles there. Ever so delicately, she pries his fingers from the porcelain and turns him to face her. “Breathe with me,” she instructs quietly, placing one of his hands on her shoulders so he can feel their movement. The two stand there for a moment, Will struggling to get his breathing under control and El wondering what has gotten him so shaken up. When Will looks less like he’s going to throw up or pass out, he removes his hands from El’s shoulders and sits on the floor. El joins him wordlessly, sitting across from him with her back up against the tub.

Will pulls his knees up to his chest and when he speaks, El can barely hear him: “I had a feeling in there. At first, I thought it was just the air conditioning, but then I realized it wasn’t.” His words sound shaky, his voice thick with oncoming tears.

El scoots forward so her legs knock into his. She grabs his hands and folds their fingers together, squeezing them in hopes to bring her brother back to Earth. “What do you mean?”

Will looks up then, meeting her eyes for the first time since he ran off. His face looks haunted, eyes reminiscent of a scared animal waiting for the slaughter. “I mean, I _ felt him _.” His free hand drifts up to the back of his neck and suddenly El’s stomach plummets. “I thought we got rid of him.” There are tears on both their faces now. El can’t look away from Will, seemingly trying to tuck himself into a smaller and smaller ball until he winks out of existence. “I should’ve told you when it happened last week, too, but I thought it was just me dealing with the anniversary of a traumatic event.” He sounds like Dr. Owens, spouting off the technical jargon. “I didn’t want it to be true, but I guess it is.”

“Shit,” El can’t help but whisper. “He’s back.”

Will frowns, his face seeming decades older than he is. “And we have to tell the others.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> »Guys, look! A plot! I finally caught a fucking plot!  
»I'm literally so excited for the next few chapters, y'all. Crazy shit.  
»Super off topic, but Halsey's new album SLAPS, bro. Stream Manic and also No Shame by 5SOS. Thanks!  
»Love you guys! Thanks for reading!  
»Check me out on tumblr (main: hi-hello-hey-there, it/st: toziers-token).
> 
> -B


	10. promise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back! With the world literally falling to pieces around us, I decided no better time than the present to thank some of my biggest supporters. So, to SlitheredFromEden, incrediblybent, asshole_gay_797, amazingbeth, and ticomat, thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your lovely encouraging words of excitement and support and I love you very much! Also, minor edits have been made to a few previous chapters to resolve some continuity errors I made. I also realized in this editing process than Richie sends a Bill Hader gif in the last chapter. Whoops. Anyway, please enjoy!

**[Wednesday, July 10]**

**[9:47 pm]**

**queer commandos**

**bitchin’:** come to our house asap

**bitchin’:** will and i have something we need to talk about

**this dust-in:** bill and i will be there in 10

**captain america:** Let me drag Stan and Mike out of the basement.

**indiana mike:** richie and ben are out with me

**indiana mike:** we’ll be there soon

**indiana mike:** is something wrong?

El doesn’t bother responding to Mike. She can tell he already has a feeling about what’s going on. Will, while no longer in the bathroom, looks no better than he did half an hour ago when she finally coaxed him back into the living room. Max saw his face and immediately scooped him into her arms and hugged him, allowing him to bury his head in her shoulder. El couldn’t say anything about Bev and Eddie definitively, but they seem to be taking everything in stride. Eddie went to his other side, the mother hen instinct (as Richie called it) in him taking over, and gripped his hand tightly. Bev crouches in front of him, her hands balanced on his knee, speaking in hushed tones, not really talking about anything in particular, just stories to keep his mind off of everything else. El’s phone buzzes in her hand with a text from Stan.

**[9:52 pm]**

**stanley and el**

**stanley:** Is this about what I think it’s about?

**el:** unfortunately

**stanley:** Fuck.

**stanley:** I guess we had to tell them sooner or later.

**el:** a lot sooner than we thought

**stanley:** We’ll be there soon. Lucas is speeding.

**stanley:** He’s really worried even if he isn’t showing it.

**stanley:** I can, you know, /feel/ it.

**el:** yeah

**el:** i can tell everyone is

After making sure Will is still secure with the others, giving Max a grim look when they make eye contact over his head, she goes to stand by the door, ready to open it when the first people show up.

She’s really not surprise when Mike practically falls out of his car with the engine still running trying to get into the house. He stops briefly to look her up and down for signs of danger before heading for Will in the other room. Richie climbs out of the car next, waiting for Ben to crawl out of the backseat before pulling the keys from the ignition and locking the doors for his cousin. The two walk briskly to the front door and stop to talk to El after closing the door.

“Everything alright, bitchin’?” Richie asks, placing a gentle hand on her bicep. She looks up at him and tries to smile, but all she can manage is a grimace. Richie pulls her into a hug, Ben joining in from behind her.

“I’m just worried,” El whispers between the two of them. They jump apart when the doorbell rings, El pushing past them to open the door for Lucas, Stan, and Mike H.

Lucas immediately pulls her into a hug, whispering, “Is it happening again?” El pulls back and nods, watching heartbrokenly as Lucas’s face falls. She silently ushers him into the living room with Richie and Ben so he can check on Will like she knows he wants to. Mike follows his boyfriend, reaching forward to entwine their fingers and shooting El a sympathetic look as he goes.

Suddenly, her left hand is warm and being squeezed, Stan having grabbed it in solidarity. “Do you want me to, um, do something for you?” he asks quietly. He’s looking at her with blatant concern in his eyes and she feels all her resolve crumble. She lets out a shaky breath and just looks at him, not trusting herself to speak. “How’s courage sound?”

“You don’t have to,” she manages to get out. “I’m just scared. I’ve dealt with worse.”

“Yeah, well, you don’t have to deal with it right now. Especially if you’re the one who’s gonna break the news. I’ll be there with you, but a little luck on our side wouldn’t hurt.”

Stan’s eyes haven’t left hers during his whole speech and she squeezes his hand as a small smile comes over her face. “Okay,” she says. “But don’t wear yourself out.”

Stan smiles at her, too, and nods. He holds his other hand out and the two face each other. El delicately places her hand in his and closes her eyes. The effect of Stan’s powers is almost immediate. She stands straighter and breathes deeper, more even breaths. Her eyebrows smooth and her muscles aren’t tense anymore. She feels lighter and, of course, braver.

She opens her eyes at the same time as Stan and notices him surreptitiously trying to wipe his nose. “I told you not to do that!” She smacks lightly at his arm, causing him to chuckle.

“What can I say? I’m an overachiever,” he deadpans and then El’s chuckling, too. The doorbell rings again and Stan disappears into the living room as El lets Dustin and Bill in. Dustin stops to give an eyebrow raise at her:  _ Are you okay? _ She just smiles, feeling better after Stan’s intervention, and Dustin nods his acknowledgement and rushes into the living room.

Bill lingers by the entryway as El locks the door and turns off the porch light. She’s shocked to see him when she turns around. “You good?” Bill startles at her words. He looks at her with a pained expression on his face. She wraps an arm around his waist, his arm automatically going around her shoulders, and guides him towards the others slowly, waiting for him to answer before taking him much further than the hallway leading to the living room. She pinches his side lightly and raises an expectant eyebrow at him, conveying that she needs an answer before they keep moving.

Bill sighs shakily. “This all just feels very familiar,” he comments quietly, getting stuck briefly on second ‘f.’ “And I hate it.”

El sympathizes. “Me, too.” She leads him into the living room. The others look up at them and Bill takes a seat on the floor in front of Ben. Will locks eyes with her and nods once.  _ You can do this _ his eyes say even though he looks to be toeing the line between throwing up and not.

El gestures for Stan to join her in front of everyone else and he does, the duo sitting opposite their friends. “Okay, so I guess you’re wondering what’s going on.”

“Yeah, kinda,” Eddie says, still gripping Will’s hand, Mike W. holding the other. El looks around and sees eleven pairs of eyes peering back and the irony of that number is not lost on her. They’re all staring at her in breathless anticipation and Stan kicks the side of her foot once with his to let her know he’s still there with her.

“Okay, this is a long story and one that’s hard to digest.” She sees recognition on her friends’ faces and confusion on the losers’. “I used to live in a government facility. Well, live is a generous term, but for the first twelve years of my life, I called the lab home. My mom was part of the MKUltra experiments and she didn’t know she was pregnant with me at the time. A ton of experiments were done on her before she got out of it and all the drugs must have done something to me. I-” She stumbles here, the words catching in her throat. She finds Max’s eyes in the group who gives her an encouraging smile and suddenly, El feels better. She returns the smile before picking up where she left off. “I can move things with my mind.”

“No way,” Ben remarks, but she can tell the incredulity in his voice doesn’t come from disbelief, but rather that both she and Stan are byproducts of the same experiment.

“Don’t be so qu-quick to judge,” Bill remarks from the floor, sharing a knowing look with Stan before turning back to her.

“No, you’re right to be cautious.” All eyes are on her as she lifts her arm and focuses on the remote on the table. The little plastic device hovers a couple inches above the coffee table for a few moments before returning to its spot. Such a small act won’t cause her nose to bleed, but her hand goes to her nose on reflex and she catches sight of her tattoo where her sweater has ridden up. “There were others like me, too.” She rolls the sleeve up and shows up the 011 branded onto her wrist for everyone to see. “Anyway, when I was twelve, one of the experiments they made me do was go into my mind and make contact with Afghan soldiers exchanging codes, but it went wrong. I lost control of the situation and made contact with an interdimensional monster we called the demogorgon. The exchange sent out such a power surge that I accidentally opened a gate between our dimension and its. Will was kidnapped as a result and we had to find him.” Will is no longer looking at her as a few heads turn his way. Mike W. pulls him into his chest and rubs his arm. El feels awful divulging all this information, but she has to. Everyone has to be on the same page for this to work. “Eventually, we did, and I got sent into the demogorgon’s dimension, the Upside Down, trying to get it out of our’s but I wasn’t there for long. At this point, the Hawkins lab was still up and running so I had to stay undercover at my dad’s for a while.”

“What she didn’t know,” Will piped up, obviously feeling comfortable enough to share his side of the story. El pretends not to notice Stan wiping at his nose and discreetly passes him one of the tissues she keeps on her at all times. Will continues: “What she didn’t know was that the Upside Down left its mark on me as much as she did on it. A year or so later, I started flashing back to the Upside Down. Like, I would be there for a few minutes until someone brought me back. And when I was there, there was this shadow monster. He made me feel cold and alone and in danger. At one point, I got stuck in the Upside Down for too long and the monster possessed me. I was like his spy.” His hand drifts back to his neck, having sat forward on the couch and abandoning Mike W. and Eddie’s attempts at comfort.

“Oh, honey,” El can hear Bev whisper.

“For a couple of days, I thought I was going to die. I was so cold all the time and I felt weak, mentally and physically. At the same time, Hawkins was being infected. Plants were rotting, animals were dying, flies were everywhere. Eventually, Hopper found that there were tunnels being dug under the town and that’s how more demogorgons were getting around and killing things. And the lab was ground zero.”

El picks up for him. “We figured out that the gate had to be closed and soon or else Will was going to get worse. It got to the point where we had to keep him sedated for fear of the shadow monster finding out where we were and sending more demogorgons to try and kill us. I had to go back to the lab and close it.” Her breaths grow labored as she remembers all the unpleasant memories that come after this.

“Let me,” Max says, standing from her spot and sitting beside El, taking her hand and giving it a comforting squeeze. “So, eventually El closes the gate and the Byers and Nancy get Will un-possessed and we think everything has gone back to normal. That lasted a few months until we realized there were evil Russians in Hawkins trying to reopen the gate under the new mall that was subsequently shut down. The shadow monster was back and building an army of brainwashed soldiers, my brother included, that would eventually become a physical body for him. It’s as gruesome as it sounds. We have to fight the bastard again and there’s even slimmer chances now that he’s corporeal. My brother sacrificed himself after El convinced him he could do some good after all the bad that came out of this, but we eventually did it.” Max takes a moment to swallow and El leans her head on her shoulder. “And it’s been quiet,” she finally says. “Until now.

“I felt him again,” Will says, barely audible.

“What?” Mike W. bursts out. “Are you okay? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I thought it was just a one-time thing, but I’ve felt him three times since the fourth. It’s very faint and it’s a little different of a feeling than last time, but I definitely felt him.”

“What do you mean different?” Lucas and Dustin ask at the same time.

Stan speaks up now: “That’s where we come in, I think.”

“Are you sure about this, Stan?” Richie asks from beside Eddie on the arm of the couch. El is starting to see that he has a mother hen instinct as well.

“Yes,” he replies without hesitation. “One hundred percent.” Stan takes a deep breath and begins to roll up his own sleeve, placing his arm next to El’s and showing off the tattoo on his wrist: 010. “I was part of MKUltra, too. I can manipulate dreams and emotions and I get premonitory dreams that predict the future.” A low, shocked gasp ripples through the room from the party. “I was from a lab in Derry, which was another ground zero for a monster that terrorized kids and fed on them. Every twenty-seven years or so, the monster who presented itself as a clown called Pennywise would lure kids into the sewers and scare them so he could- so he could eat them. Georgie almost was one of them.”

“No,” Lucas whispers, hands going to his mouth in horror.

“Nobody believed us when we started figuring out that the terrible things that happened every few decades were because of one thing and we had to go into the sewers ourselves to try and stop It.” Everyone can hear the capitalization in his voice. “We thought we did and we saved Georgie, but now I’m not so sure. I was getting dreams the week before we came here that the clown would be back and that the losers couldn’t take It on by ourselves. El and I came clean to one another pretty early on and started talking about what that could mean. We think that Pennywise is coming here because of all the recent activity.”

“Wait,” Dustin says, holding up a hand and eyebrows scrunching in confusion. “I thought your monster came around every twenty-seven years.”

“I was just thinking the same thing,” Eddie points out.

“What if,” Mike H. suddenly speaks up, an introspective look on his face, “Pennywise goes around  _ Derry  _ every twenty-seven years since that’s his home, but in between those occurrences, he goes other places to feed? What if your shadow monster was an incarnation of Pennywise?”

“Yeah,” Lucas says, sitting forward. “What if they’re the same thing?”

“That makes sense,” Bev replies, nodding along. “But what does that mean for us?”

“Well, for starters, the adults here believe us about this stuff,” El remarks. “We tell them what’s going on and they can get in contact with the right people to help us.”

“Okay, but we don’t know when or where this fucker is coming back,” Richie points out. “How will we know?”

Will laughs humorlessly. “I’m kind of like a human smoke detector when it comes to that.”

“You said the lab was the epicenter? And the mall?” Ben asks, the same thoughtful look on his face as everyone else’s. El and Max nod. “Well, those would be good places to start. Some of us in one spot, some in the other.”

“How-how many people do you think are going to be willing to fight with us?” Bill asks. The gears are obviously turning in his brain, trying to formulate a plan.

“My sister, Nancy,” Mike W. speaks up immediately.

“Hopper and Joyce probably,” El speculates.

“And Jonathan,” Will adds.

“Apparently my sister, Erica, would, too,” Lucas reports incredulously.

Dustin counts off two more fingers. “Steve and Robin would.” When he’s met with puzzled looks he elaborates, “They’re my friends.”

Max snaps her fingers in realization. “Probably that reporter Hop and Mrs. Byers are friends with, too. Murray?”

“That’s a good place to start,” Eddie says, yawning through them. “We should probably get some rest and tomorrow we can start planning.” Everyone nods their agreement.

“Can you guys stay here tonight?” Will asks, sounding incredibly small. “I don’t want to be alone. There are some old clothes of Jonathan’s and Hopper’s that you guys can borrow to sleep in.” When everyone agrees wholeheartedly, they go around the house, turning all the lights on and getting ready for sleep. The group crowds in the living room, practically on top of one another, until everyone’s breathing evens out and only El is left wide awake. Making sure so as not to disturb her brother, she rises from the floor and makes her way to the porch, easing the front door shut behind her.

It’s started to rain since the boys came and she watches silently as thoughts race at a mile a minute through her head.  _ What happens now? Are we strong enough to beat it again? Will everyone be okay? Is it going to end well for them? Are- _

Her thoughts are interrupted by another person joining her on the porch. Max bumps their shoulders together as she leans on the railing by El. “Doing alright?”

“Yeah,” El responds, shooting her a tense smile before going back to watching the rain fall, the sound of it splashing against the ground soothing. “Couldn’t sleep.”

Max’s gaze doesn’t leave El even when she faces away from her friend. “Wanna talk about it?”

“I just-” El starts, but doesn’t know how she wants to finish. “Do you ever want your thoughts to just stop for a minute? Like, let me breathe and do what I need to do before you go jumping to conclusions.” Max laughs softly at her silly analogy, the sound sending warmth right into El’s veins. “What about you? Couldn’t sleep either?”

Max’s laughter dies down, her eyes finally straying from her best friend and out into the night, watching the smoke rise from the ground as the cool rain strikes it. “Yeah, I guess.” There’s a small yet incredibly charged pause. “Have you ever wanted to just tell someone something? Like just come out and say it even though it might ruin something good?” Max asks suddenly. El glances over and sees a pink blush settle on her cheekbones, the dusting of freckles there nearly blending in. El thinks about how beautiful she is inside and out and wonders how she can nudge Will and Mike together and not try the same for herself. She’s a  _ hypocrite _ . Then she realizes Max is waiting for an answer.

“Yeah,” El replies. She decides to test the waters: “Pretty recently, actually.”

Max’s eyebrows shoot into her hairline. “Oh, really?” There’s something akin to jealousy rolling off of her in waves and El decides to to jump headfirst into the waters.

“Yeah, really. I want to tell this girl that I think I’m starting to fall for her, but I don’t know how to say it and I don’t want us to stop being friends. She’s my best friend and I couldn’t live without her,” El divulges because Max clearly wasn’t going to ask.

“Oh,” Max says in a small voice. Then, after a moment of silence: “Why don’t you just say that then?”

“Because I’m scared,” El whispers, shutting her eyes against Max’s sudden interest in her. She’s pretty confident she’s judged the situation right, but Max hasn’t said anything and she’s worried she guessed wrong.

“El,” Max begins, but cuts herself off, putting a hand on El’s shoulder before dragging her in her personal space and placing her other hand on El’s cheek. El can feel her own face heating up and the pace of her heart quickening to the point that she thinks it might explode. The distance between them is closing and fast, so El musters up all the courage she can to lean forward the remaining few centimeters to kiss her best friend.

Max gasps against her lips and El giggles, throwing her arms around Max’s neck. Max's hand drifts from her shoulder to her waist to keep them close, her fingers delicately brushing the exposed skin there. The two stand on the porch, entirely too absorbed with one another, while the rain starts falling in sheets behind them. They part briefly for air before leaning back in. El loses count of how many kisses they share by the time she can’t breathe anymore. She leans their foreheads together and grabs for Max’s hands, entwining their fingers.

“So, this girl,” Max says, tilting her head to look at El. “Is she worth all this worry? Even though you’re literally the kindest and most amazing human being on the planet?”

El plants one more kiss on her lips before responding, “She’s worth every star in the galaxy times a million.”

Max giggles and kisses her again. “We should go inside before we catch hypothermia.”

“Only if you’ll lay next to me.” El means for it to come out teasing and flirtatious, but a hint of her anxiety creeps into the words. She hasn’t been sleeping all that well since Stan told her everything that she knew was going to happen by the end of the summer. She contemplates this as Max leads her back inside. She’s scared to fall asleep, too, for fear that she’ll dream about something terrible.

Max must hear it in her voice because after she closes the door behind them, she pulls El into a hug. “I’ll kick everyone that’s ever hurt you in the ass if it means that you’re safe and happy. And I’ll lay beside you to chase the dream monsters away every night,” she whispers, pulling El by the hand back toward the living room and laying down on the floor under the blanket El had grabbed for herself.

“Promise?” El finally whispers to her.

Max pulls herself flush against El and lays an arm across her midsection. El can already feel her eyes growing heavy. She barely hears Max’s response: “Promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> »And that's it, folks! All the ships have been established. Is it gay enough for you?  
»The plot thickens. What happens to our brave heroes? Only I know and maybe not even that.  
»The next chapter is fucking loco my dudes I'm so excited for y'all to read it.  
»Love you guys! Thanks for reading!  
»Check me out on tumblr (main: hi-hello-hey-there, it/st: toziers-token).
> 
> -B


	11. you're probably not going to like it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back in the land of the living-ish and I feel bad about kind of forgetting that this existed. I have been getting your awesome comments and seeing all the kudos and it inspired me to just finish the last chapter already. Without further ado, here we go!

“Not that I’m not  _ thrilled  _ to see you all here,” a voice says from above Richie, rousing him from the restless sleep he’d been getting. “But there are at least six more children in my house than there were last night.” He fumbles for his glasses and pushes them up his nose in time to make eye contact with Hopper and smile groggily.

“It’s probably more like nine,” Will’s voice comes from the other side of the room, muffled by a pillow or his cousin’s shirt, Richie can’t tell.

“Smartass,” the chief chuckles under his breath. “How about I make breakfast for everyone? Have a lazy day?”

“Actually,” El interrupts, sitting up from her position near the doorway. “We need to have a meeting. Is mom up?”

“Wait, all of us?” Hopper asks. Richie looks over to see El nodding, a nervous yet serious look on her face. “Okay, I’ll start on some food. Get everyone up and if there’s more people that need to come, get them over here, too.” El pops wordlessly off the floor and launches herself at her dad, pecking his cheek and sprinting towards the back of the house.

“Eds,” Richie whispers, nudging his boyfriend a little. “Eddie, get up.”

“Huh- what? I’m up! I’m up.” Eddie is adorably ruffled with his matching pajama set and fluffy hair. “Morning.” Eddie rolls around to face Richie and smiles softly at him. He reaches out and places his hands on either side of Richie’s face and tilts his head down so he can place a kiss on his forehead. Richie thinks his heart might burst right then and there and what a fat lot of good that would do the group.

“Morning,” Richie replies, a dopey grin coming over his features. “Let’s wake the others up.” He sits up and sees Will is rubbing his eyes from the love seat where he fell asleep pressed into Mike’s side last night. “Better?” Richie asks him.

“Much,” Will replies. He looks it, too. Less like a spooked deer and more like his usual, snarky self.

“Good.” Richie nods at him before standing and turning to Bill. “Get up, asshole. We got monsters to kill.”

~ ~ ~

They’ve moved extra tables upstairs to accommodate for the influx of even more people that showed up at the Byers’. Richie had helped Jonathan set them up before offering his services to Mrs. Byers, feeling the need to either be useful or disappear. “I cook a mean omelet,” he tells her.

“You’re sweet,” she says, patting his cheek momentarily before going back to juicing oranges. “You can help Jim if he needs it.”

So Richie ends up at the stove, flipping flapjacks with the chief. “So, you’re Mike’s cousin?”

“Yes, sir. And may I say, what a pain in the ass he is.”

Hopper chuckles openly at that. “I’ll say. He got my daughter and now my son. He’s a good kid, though.” A fond smile comes over his face. “Don’t tell him I said that.”

Now Richie’s laughing. “That should be the least of your worries.”

“Speaking of worries, should I be? You know what this is about?”

Richie flips another pancake out of the skillet and onto a plate. “I’m not going to sugarcoat it, but you’re probably not going to like it.”

The two are silent after that, listening to the sound of Lucas bickering with his sister, the multitude of hushed, private conversations from all over the house, and the plates and silverware clinking together as Dustin and Ben set the table. Richie brings the first plate of pancakes to the table as Jonathan opens the front door and a guy with spectacular hair, a girl Richie’s never seen before, and Nancy all walk in. Both the guy and his cousin kiss Jonathan on the cheek and Richie figures this must be the Steve he’s heard about.

His suspicions are confirmed when Dustin nearly drops a glass rushing to ambush the guy, shouting, “Steve!”

“Henderson!” Steve replies, slinging an arm around Dustin’s neck and moving to ruffle his hair. Dustin shouts at him to stop and they scuffle out of the dining room and away from the breakable things.

Nancy’s head turns to him when she hears Richie snort and she takes the pancakes out of his hands and sets them down so she can hug him. “Hey, goober.” The childhood nickname makes him smile.

“Goober?” Of course Stan had to round the corner just then, hair still damp from the shower he just took. “Yeah, never letting that one go.”

Richie just groans and drops his forehead to his cousin’s shoulder. “Really, Nance?”

“Yes, absolutely,” she replies, pinching his side before offering a hug to Stan, who accepts it. “What are we doing here?”

“You’ll find out soon enough, I guess,” Stan replies pulling back and giving her a look of grim determination.

Sooner rather than later, everyone is sat around the extended dining room table and digging in to the food prepared by Hopper, Joyce, and Richie.

“This is actually really good, trashmouth,” Bev compliments across Eddie.

“Yeah,” his boyfriend adds grudgingly, poking at the pancake with his fork. “This better not be poisoned.” Richie just shrugs with a shiteating grin on his face. The table, while full, is suspiciously quiet. At least, quieter than it should be.

After a few moments, the girl Richie doesn’t know asks, “What’s going on, you guys? It’s a little suspicious that you’ve summoned us here on a random Thursday morning in July.”

“I have to agree with Robin,” Steve says from the spot between Nancy and Jonathan. “Very weird.”

The losers and the party all look at each other and then the seven other people at the table. “Well,” El begins. She and Stan recount their stories from last night, skipping the parts that everyone knows. The other kids fill in spots they miss and their theories from last night. After they’re done speaking, Joyce stands from her spot at the head of the table and grips Stan in a blindingly tight hug. Richie can hear her whispering how sorry she is as she runs her fingers comfortingly through his hair. Eddie’s hand finds his under the table and Richie notices how pale he’s gone. Richie’s thumb moves in soothing circles on the back of Eddie’s hand and his shoulders start to unclench.

“Damn it,” Hopper says once Joyce has returned to her seat. “I’ll call Murray and Owens.” He stands from the table and everyone jumps a little at the sound of the back door slamming shut.

“What are we doing, then?” Jonathan asks, looking down at the table but the blankness of his thousand yard stare is undeniable.

Ben repeats his plan from last night: “Some of us go to the mall and some to the lab when Will gets that feeling again. Once we figure out where It’s going to be, we all go there. The most important thing is that we have to be prepared.”

“Yeah,” Richie speaks up. “We don’t know what’s going to happen or what the creature is going to be like this time. It might be Pennywise or it might be your mind flayer or it might be something entirely new.”

“I’m just wondering why you didn’t come to us sooner,” Nancy remarks, pointedly looking across the table at her brother.

Mike throws his hands up in surrender. “I didn’t know about this until last night.”

It’s then that Hopper comes back inside and returns to his spot at the table. Joyce immediately clasps their hands together. “What do we do now?” she asks him.

Jim just rubs a hand over his face for a minute. He looks up and around at everyone staring at him. He turns away from their expectant stares and Richie feels guilty for some reason. “Nothing we  _ can  _ do,” he finally answers, “except play the waiting game.”

~ ~ ~

**[Tuesday, July 16]**

**[12:09 am]**

**queer commandos**

**january embers:** who wants 2 relive the losers greatest hits w me

**sister maxine:** obviously me

**sister maxine:** but y r u looking at old vids?

**january embers:** i need a distraction

**january embers:** its 2 quiet

**this dust-in:** yeah i no how it is

**this dust-in:** i was rly happy 2 c suzie but im glad she left already

**this dust-in:** i didnt want her here when shit went down

**eds:** if you’re gonna send what i think you are, you better not bev

**january embers:** vteam.mov

**january embers:** whoops my fingers slipped

**indiana mike:** holy shit look at you guys

**eds:** i hate you

**january embers:** :*

**will the wise:** omg you were fetuses

**captain america:** Please send more.

**january embers:** w pleasure

**january embers:** VLOG.mov

**eds:** BEVERLY

**this dust-in:** video lubricant octopus grandpa is my new twitter bio

**just a bill:** i can’t bREATHE

**january embers:** no one is safe

**january embers:** butno.mov

**sister maxine:** “old people bother me”

**sister maxine:** *dramatic head nod*

**sister maxine:** BuT nO

**winter fire:** i’ve got one

**winter fire:** pumpedupkickspts1-7.mov

**captain america:** Holy shit. How old were you guys?

**dickhead:** like 13 idk

**bitchin’:** i feel like it’s only fair that i share this

**bitchin’:** dustingetsknockedtfout.mov

**sister maxine:** i foRGOT ABOUT THAT LMAO

**this dust-in:** dont try me

**this dust-in:** ketchup&mustard.mov

**sedanly:** Okay, that’s actually the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.

**christ almikey:** ooh ooh

**christ almikey:** please send that vid of stan playing the piano

**january embers:** /that/ 1

**christ almikey:** yes /that/ one

**january embers:** i got u fam

**january embers:** billdoesntknowhowsockswork.mov

**just a bill:** what kind of drugs was i on?

**dickhead:** the good kind apparently

**will the wise:** holy shit

**will the wise:** i found this and i CANNOT breathe

**will the wise:** domsshaveice.mov

**indiana mike:** we’re breaking up

**will the wise:** you love me too much

**indiana mike:** yeah i guess

**sedanly:** You won’t /even/ believe.

**christ almikey:** we got your classic crystal meth

**sister maxine:** here we go

**sister maxine:** willisliterallyoncrack.mov

**eds:** were you running around a car?

**january embers:** dude wtf

**will the wise:** i was fourteen leave me alone

**bitchin’:** ithastobeafraction.mov

**winter fire:** why does it have to be a frACTION??

**just a bill:** CONVERT IT INTO A DECIMAL

**winter fire:** IT HAS TO BE A FRACTION EL

**will the wise:** stop BULLYING ME

**dickhead:** sToP bUlLyInG mE

**captain america:** MaxHasNoUpperBodyStrength.mov

**sister maxine:** dude where did u even get that

**sister maxine:** you werent there that day

**captain america:** I have my ways.

**just a bill:** lmao you just fucking fell off the monkey bars

**winter fire:** billwhatareyouDOING.mov

**dickhead:** lmao i remember that

**dickhead:** what the hell r u even singing

**just a bill:** i must have blocked that traumatic memory out of my head

christ almikey: remember this?

christ almikey: robeboys.mov

**sister maxine:** ROBE

**sister maxine:** B O Y S

**dickhead:** stfu

**january embers:** one more b4 i lose my mind

**january embers:** eddieasloganpaul.mov

**bitchin’:** alskjakf today im gonna show you how to hack

**indiana mike:** *just becomes skrillex*

**this dust-in:** excrement firecracker is my new new twitter bio

**eds:** that’s it

**eds:** i hate all of you

~ ~ ~

Will chuckles to himself as he sets his phone down, eyes finally feeling tired enough to attempt sleep. He can hear the soft sound of Jonathan snoring diagonally across the hall and his mother and Hopper watching TV in the living room downstairs. El, in the next room over, shuffles over to the light switch by the door, flicking it off before climbing back into bed, the walls thin enough for Will to hear it clear as day. Or maybe he’s just gotten used to her nighttime routine. His eyes droop a little, but the sudden silence of the house makes him too nervous to fall asleep.

Ever since he felt the all-too-familiar chill down his spine a few days ago, falling asleep had been somewhat of a chore. Every time he closes his eyes, he can see the mind flayer silhouetted against his eyelids. When he sleeps, he dreams of the death and destruction he left in his wake. But mostly, he feels guilty every time he thinks of the shadow monster. Logically, Will knows it’s not his fault that he was kidnapped and he knows that nothing he did caused him to get possessed, but he still feels responsible for everything he caused under the shadow monster’s influence. His mother had to venture into the Upside Down to get him. She had to literally burn the monster out of him. Hopper almost died the third time around dealing with it.

The thoughts make for an unpleasant time trying to fall asleep.

Will hasn’t been asleep for long, maybe an hour or two at most, when he’s woken up by a sudden pain at the base of his neck. He sucks in a sharp breath and cries out, the sound coming out muffled by his pillow. His breathing quickens as he comes to more rapidly, very aware of the pain now spreading down his back and up towards the top of his head. The dark pushes in around him and he starts to panic, a strangled whimper coming out of his throat.  _ He’s back, he's back, he's back _ , Will thinks incoherently, struggling to turn over in his bed so he can breathe more easily.

The dark seeping into his room from the outside is making the whole process more difficult, but he reasons he can probably get to the light switch beside his door so he can get this under control and tell his family. But he’s frozen in place, barely able to turn his head toward his clock. The time, 2:11, glares angry red back at him. He clenches his eyes shut and thinks of his sister, the next room over, and his brother in the room across from her’s, his parents at the end of the hall. He thinks of his best friends and his boyfriend and his new friends and how strong they’ve told him he is. He can feel his toes wiggling and he concentrates more on moving. Eventually, he has enough power to move his arm towards the nightstand and pull himself towards it. He still isn’t breathing normally when he’s managed to pull himself out of the bed completely and drops to the floor like a stone. By some miracle, he doesn’t hit his head on anything on the way down.

He’s regaining feeling in his arms and legs gradually but not enough to hold himself up. He army crawls towards the door and tries to get words out of his mouth, but all he can do is get unintelligible sounds out. He finally gets to the door and stretches his arm out as far as he can, desperate to reach the light and dispel the darkness from his room, from his mind, but he can’t. He scoots impossibly closer and finally manages to brush the switch with his fingertips hard enough that it flips upward. His throat opens minutely as light explodes in his room, enough that he can take deeper breaths and start to calm down so he can form a plan.

He still can’t talk, his throat refusing to unclench, so he settles for the next best thing to get his family’s attention. He pounds on the door with his fist, hoping and praying to anything that’s listening that El will hear him. Even though the light is on, he still feels panic rising up into his throat. He pounds the door harder. “Will?” his mom asks. He hadn’t even heard her until the door started to creak open. She spots him on the floor and drops to her knees beside him. “Will! Honey, are you okay?” He tries to force anything out of his mouth, but no words come. He just shakes his head violently and feels tears pool in the corners of his eyes. His mother scoops him up into her arms and leans his body against hers even though he’s a head and a half taller than her. “Jim!” she calls down the hall. “Jim, come quick!” She turns her attention back to her son, running her fingers through his hair. “Just calm down, baby. Calm down and then you can tell us what’s wrong.”

Hopper pounds into the room, sleepy-eyed but alert. “What’s wrong?” Will is still breathing faster than he should be when he crouches down next to him. “Woah, buddy. Take it easy. Follow me.” Hopper exaggerates his breathing in and out so Will can copy it. El appears in the doorway next, followed closely by Jonathan. El goes around his other side, twisting their fingers together as Will struggles to match his breaths to Hopper’s. Finally, though, he manages to not sound like an asthmatic after running a marathon and meets eyes with his family.

“What’s wrong, Will?” Jonathan asks, a knowing look on his face like he suspects.

Will almost starts crying again when he delivers the news: “He’s here.”

~ ~ ~

El texts the losers and the party, Jonathan notifies Nancy, Steve, and Robin, and Hopper calls Dr. Owens so that he can get people to them as soon as possible. Murray unfortunately is in another country on a research trip with his friend Alexei and couldn’t come back to Hawkins in time. Will watches his family scurry around trying to prepare as best they can for the coming attack.

“How are you feeling?” El asks him. The two are curled up together under a blanket on the couch waiting for the others to arrive. She had forced him somewhere warm, treating the supernatural demon like a fever that could be broken.

“Cold,” he replies immediately. El gets impossibly closer to him and wraps an arm around his shoulders, rubbing her hand up and down his arm. “And sore. I’ve got a headache, but at least we’re ready?” In truth, he feels like shit and nothing is going to change that unless they stop this thing once and for all.

“We’re gonna do it,” El says, as though she’s read his thoughts. “Promise.”

“I hope so.” Will shuts his eyes and wishes his headache away. Sooner rather than later, everyone has gathered in the Byers’ home, ready to execute plan Let’s-Kill-This-Fucking-Clown, looking tired and nervous but determined.

“Are we ready?” his mother asks, stopping briefly to pat Eddie on the shoulder and rub Bev’s back.

“Ready as we’ll ever be,” Dustin speaks up. “Let’s get this over with.” Slowly, everyone makes their way to the door and out to the cars.

Mike comes up beside Will and takes his boyfriend’s hand in his. “Are you ready?” And that’s what Will loves about Mike. He has never once implied that Will was weaker than anyone else, that he was any different. He just asks if he’s ready like he would anyone else and Will smiles at him.

“Yeah,” he responds, bringing Mike’s hand up to his lips and placing a kiss on his knuckles. “I think so.”

“Well, then, let’s kill this fucking clown.”

Will chuckles at Richie’s indignant squeak of “That’s my line, asshole!” and Mike’s retort of “Bite me, dickwad!”

“Real mature,” Derry Mike comments, chuckling at their antics. “You two act like you look: alike.”

“Except Mike has a filter when it comes to it,” Eddie adds, climbing into the backseat of Jonathan’s car.

“You wound me, my love,” Richie says, climbing in after him.

Will is about to follow him when his boyfriend pulls him into a hug, pressing his lips to Will’s hairline. “Please be careful,” Mike whispers. Will hugs back tightly. All around him, he can see the couples that are splitting up between the two locations wishing their partners well. Bev and Ben are whispering to one another, foreheads bent together. Steve gives both Jonathan and Nancy kisses before climbing into the Hopper’s cruiser.

“You, too,” Will whispers back, stepping on tip-toe to kiss him on the cheek. Mike smiles sadly down at him before running to his mom’s car and hopping into the backseat. Will watches him go before getting into his brother’s car and peeling off towards the mall. Nancy and Jonathan are talking strategy as they go, deciding who gets what of the weapons loaded into the trunk. Richie and Eddie are silent for once, holding hands and likely preparing themselves mentally for what’s to come. Behind them, Robin drives her car carrying five more people into the unknown. The only thing Will knows for certain is that something is going to happen tonight.

And it’s not going to be good for any of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> »I kinda hated writing this chapter but looking up all the videos of the cast gave me a good chuckle. If you know what videos I'm talking about, feel free to link them in the comments!  
»I apologize about skipping over our Suzie time but it didn't fit with the timeline I wanted to keep. You'll see her, promise!  
»Up next: the team executes plan let's-kill-this-fucking-clown.  
»Love you guys! Thanks for reading!  
»Check me out on tumblr (main: hi-hello-hey-there, it/st: toziers-token).
> 
> -B


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